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]'ul'lUh,'rl  h-Mirsk, 


SYSTEM    OF    PHRENOLOGY. 


GEORGE   COMBE, 

LATE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  PHRENOLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 


Res  non  verba  qusBso. 


SIXTH    AMERICAN   FROM   THE  THIRD  EDINBURGH  EDITION. 


RKVISED    AND    ENLARGED    BY    THE    AUTHOR. 


BOSTON : 
MARSH,   CAPEN,   LYON,   AND   WEBB. 

18  3  9. 


"^'^^ 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1834,  by  Marsh,  Capen,  &. 
LroN,  in  the  Clerk's  OiBce  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts 


EDUCATION  PRESS. 


ADVERTISEMENT 
TO    THE    AMERICAN    EDITION. 


1  HAVE  been  requested  to  prepare  a  corrected  edition  of  this 
work  for  the  American  press,  and  with  the  greatest  satisfaction 
have  complied  with  the  solicitation.  The  United  States  stand  in 
an  enviable  position  as  a  nation.  To  a  territory  almost  boundless, 
a  soil  in  the  highest  degree  fertile,  and  every  variety  of  climate, 
are  added  what  no  other  people  on  earth  enjoy,  a  constitution 
entirely  free,  and  social  institutions  calculated  to  encourage  the 
boldest  exercise  of  the  human  understanding.  They  require  only, 
in  addition,  a  sound  and  practical  system  of  mental  philosophy,  to 
enable  them  to  attain-  to  a  moral  and  intellectual  preeminence  com- 
mensurate with  their  physical  and  political  advantages.  Phren- 
ology professes  to  be  such  a  system ;  and  as  such  I  present  it 
to  their  consideration.  The  great  discoverer  of  it  has  been  for 
several  years  numbered  with  the  dead,  and  to  him  alone  belongs 
the  glory  of  having  presented  this  invaluable  gift  to  mankind.  His 
illustrious  colleague  died  lately  in  the  arms  of  American  citizens : 
They  did  honor  to  him,  to  themselves,  and  to  their  country,  by 
their  generous  conduct  towards  him  while  alive,  and  the  reverence 
paid  to  his  memory  when  dead.  We  who  remain  profess  to  be 
only  humble  disciples,  made  wise  by  the  wisdom  of  our  masters, 
and  shining  with  a  light  reflected  from  their  brightness.  In  pro- 
claiming the  value  and  importance  of  their  doctrines,  therefore,  we 
assume  no  merit  to  ourselves;  we  simply  invite  others  to  partake 
of  a  moral  and  intellectual  banquet  which  we  have  enjoyed  with 
the  highest  relish,  and  found  to  conduce  to  our  happiness  and 
improvement.  i 


IV  ADVERTISEMENT. 

The  organs  are  delineated  in  the  Plate  according  to  their  most 
general  appearances.  There  are  however  slight  differences  in 
national  heads,  vs^hich  give  rise  to  small  variations  in  the  lines  of 
demarcation  in  the  plates  of  different  phrenologists.  By  appeal- 
ing to  nature,  the  student  will  soon  learn  to  discriminate  the 
positions  and  limits  of  each  organ  ;  and  I  recommend  practice  as 
the  best  means  of  removing  every  difficulty. 

My  excellent  and  lamented  friend  Dr.  Spurzheim  no  longer 
lives  to  hear  the  expression  of  my  gratitude  and  affection.  I  can 
now  only  revere  his  memory;  and  in  paying  the  highest  tribute  to 
his  admirable  dispositions,  exalted  talents,  and  extensive  attainments, 
I  know  that  I  shall  have  the  heartfelt  concurrence  of  every  Ameri- 
can who  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  his  personal  acquaintance.  To 
the  best  of  my  knowledge,  there  is  no  material  point  of  doctrine 
on  which  he  and  I  differed,  except  concerning  the  functions  of  the 
organ  No.  III.*  I  continue  to  entertain  the  views  expressed  in  my 
works  in  regard  to  it.  I  may  now  add,  without  indehcacy,  that  it 
was  perhaps  the  only  cerebral  organ  in  which  the  superiority  of 
developement  lay  on  my  side,  and  that  every  one  understands 
best  the  functions  of  those  organs  which  are  largest  in  his  own 
brain.  It  was  remarkably  small  in  Dr.  Spurzheim,  and  it  appear- 
ed to  me  that  he  never  comprehended  the  effect  produced  by  it 
when  large.  The  point,  however,  is  left  open  for  the  judgment 
of  all  inquirers. 

23  CHARLOTTE  SQUARE,      ^ 
EDINBURGH,  Sept.,  1833.      S 


*  Inhabitiveness,  in  Spurzheim's  arrangement  No.  V. 


PREFACE 


The  following  are  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  publication 
of  the  present  Work. 

My  first  information  concerning  the  System  of  Drs.  Gall  and 
Spurzheim,  was  derived  from  No.  49.  of  the  Edinburgh  Review. 
Led  away  by  the  boldness  of  that  piece  of  criticism,  I  regarded 
their  •doctrines  as  contemptibly  absurd,  and  their  authors  as  the  most 
disingenuous  of  men.  In  1816,  however,  shortly  after  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Review,  my  friend  Mr.  Brownlee  invited  me  to  attend  a 
private  dissection  of  a  recent  brain,  to  be  performed  in  his  house 
by  Dr.  Spurzheim.  The  subject  was  not  altogether  new,  as  I  had 
previously  attended  a  Course  of  Demonstrative  Lectures  on  ana- 
tomy by  Dr.  Barclay.  Dr.  Spurzheim  exhibited  the  structure  of  the 
brain  to  all  present,  among  whom  were  several  gentlemen  of  the 
medical  profession,  and  contrasted  it  with  the  bold  averments  of  tne 
Reviewer.  The  result  was  a  complete  conviction  in  the  minds  of 
the  observers,  that  the  assertions  of  the  Reviewer  were  refuted  by 
physical  demonstration. 

The  faith  placed  in  the  Review  being  thus  shaken,  I  attended  the 
next  course  of  Dr.  Spurzheim's  Lectures,  for  the  purpose  of  hearing 
from  himself  a  correct  account  of  his  doctrines.  The  Lectures  sat- 
isfied me,  that  the  system  was  widely  different  from  the  representa- 
tions given  of  it  by  the  Reviewer,  and  that,  if  true,  it  would  prove 
highly  important;  but  the  evidence  was  not  conclusive.  I  therefore 
appealed  to  Nature  by  observation,  and  at  last  arrived  at  complete 
conviction  of  the  truth  of  Phrenology. 

In  1818,  the  Editor  of  the  "Literary  and  Statistical  Magazine 
for  Scotland,"  invited  me  to  a  free  discussion  of  the  merits  of  the 
system  in  his  work,  and  I  was  induced  to  offer  him  some  Essays  on 
the  subject.  The  notice  these  attracted  led  to  their  publication  in 
1819,  in  a  separate  volume,  under  the  title  of  "  Essays  on  Phreno- 
logy."    A  second  edition  of  these  Essays  has  since  been  called  for. 


and  the  present  volume  is  offered  in  compliance  with  that  demand. 
In  the  present  Work,  I  have  adopted  the  title  of  a  "  System  of 
Phrenology,"  on  account  of  the  wider  scope,  and  closer  connexion, 
of  its  parts;  but  pretend  to  no  novelty  in  principle,  and  to  no  rivalry 
with  the  great  founders  of  the  science. 

The  controversial  portions  of  the  first  edition  are  here  almost 
entirely  omitted.  As  the  opponents  have  quitted  the  field,  these 
appeared  no  longer  necessary,  and  their  place  is  supplied  by  what  I 
trust  will  be  found  more  interesting  matter.  Some  readers  may 
think  that  retributive  justice  required  the  continued  republication  of 
the  attacks  of  the  opponents,  that  the  public  mind,  when  properly 
enlightened,  might  express  a  just  disapprobation  of  the  conduct  of 
those  who  so  egregiously  misled  it;  but  Phrenology  teaches  us 
forbearance;  and,  besides,  it  will  be  misfortune  enough  to  the  in- 
dividuals who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  the  work  of  mis- 
representation, to  have  their  names  handed  down  to  posterity,  as 
the  enemies  of  the  greatest  and  most  important  discovery  ever 
communicated  to  mankind. 

In  this  work,  the  talents  of  several  living  characters  are  adverted 
to,  and  compared  with  the  developement  of  their  mental  organs, 
which  is  a  new  feature  in  philosophical  discussion,  and  might,  with- 
out explanation,  appear  to  some  readers  to  be  improper:  But  I  have 
founded  such  observations  on  the  printed  ivorhs,  and  published  busts 
or  casts,  of  the  individuals  alluded  to;  and  both  of  these  being  pub- 
lic property,  there  appeared  no  impropriety  in  adverting  to  them. 
In  instances  in  which  reference  is  made  to  the  cerebral  developement 
of  persons,  whose  busts  or  casts  are  not  published,  I  have  ascertain- 
ed that  the  observations  will  not  give  offence 


ADVERTISEMENT 
TO    THE    THIRD    EDITION. 


The  call  for  a  tliird  edition  of  this  work  is  a  proof  that  the  public  continues 
to  take  an  interest  in  the  subject  of  which  it  treats.  In  the  Introduction  to 
this  edition,  a  fuU  exposition  is  presented  of  the  principles  on  which  Phren- 
ology is  founded,  written  for  the  information  of  readers  who  may  be  in 
doubt  whether  or  not  it  is  worthy  of  philosophical  consideration.  In  otlier 
parts  of  the  work,  considerable  additions  have  been  made.  Figures  have 
been  introduced  to  illustrate  the  forms  of  several  of  the  heads  described. 
These,  although  far  fi-om  being  sufBcient  to  convey  complete  and  correct 
notions  of  the  objects  represented,  wUl  be  useful  in  giving  more  precision  to 
the  reader's  conceptions,  and  may  induce  him  to  make  observations  in  the 
gi-eat  field  of  nature.  It  was  my  wish  to  have  had  all  the  figures  drawm  to 
a  scale,  but  the  engraver  has  not  been  successful  in  realizing  this  intention. 
The  outline  is  accurate,  and  there  is  an  approximation  to  one  standard  of 
proportion  in  the  different  figures;  but  it  is  not  such  as  enables  me  to 
exhibit  a  scale. 

Two  subjects  treated  of  in  the  second  are  omitted  in  this  edition,  1st, "  On 
the  Harmony  of  the  Mental  Faculties  with  each  other,  and  with  the  Laws 
of  Physical  Nature ; "  and  2dly,  "  On  -Insanity  and  Criminal  Legislation." 
The  first  is  now  embraced  in  my  work,  "  On  the  Constitution  of  Man  and 
its  relations  to  external  objects,"  in  which  the  practical  application  of  Phre- 
nology to  conduct,  education,  and  the  science  of  morals,  is  treated  of;  and 
the  second  is  more  amply  discussed  in  Dr.  Spurzheun's  work  on  Insanity, 
and  in  Dr.  Andrew  Combe's  treatise  on  the  same  subject. 

Since  the  publication  of  the  second  edition,  some  opponents,  who  deny 
the  truth  of  Phrenology,  have  ascribed  its  success,  which  on  the  principle 
of  its  being  false  is  anomalous,  not  to  its  uiherent  merits,  but  to  the  talent 
wdth  which,  as  they  are  pleased  to  say,  I  have  advocated  its  cause  ;  and  they 
have  reminded  the  public,  that  I  am  knovra  to  the  literary  world  only  as  a 
Phi-enologist. 


viii  ADVERTISEMENT. 

Few  words  will  suffice  in  answer  to  these  observations.  Such  critics 
greatly  overrate  the  extent  of  my  ability ;  for  my  strength  lies  ia  the  good- 
ness of  my  cause.  Thave  studied  Phrenology,  and  read  its  doctrines  directly 
in  the  page  of  nature.  What  I  assert  in  point  of  fact,  I  have  seen ;  and 
what  I  maintain  in  argument,  I  have  found  confirmed  by  experience. 
Those  who  have  attacked  the  doctrines,  on  the  other  hand,  have  not  studied 
them  as  science ;  they  have  not  read  the  facts,  on  which  they  found  their 
objections,  in  the  book  of  nature  ;  they  have  not  tried  how  their  arguments 
would  harmonize  with  other  established  truths ;  nor  have  they  ascertained 
to  what  results  their  principles  would  lead  if  carried  into  practical  effect. 
Full  of  confidence  in  themselves,  and  of  contempt  for  their  adversary,  they 
have  come  to  the  combat  without  arms  and  without  armor ;  and  if  in  some 
instances  they  have  reeled  back  fi-om  the  encounter,  their  defeat  must  be 
ascribed  solely  to  the  inherent  weakness  of  their  cause : — it  deprived  them 
of  the  advantages  of  their  talents,  while  truth  added  to  the  strength  of  the 
party  assailed. 

I  plead  guilty  of  being  known  to  the  world  only  as  a  Phrenologist.  Be- 
heving,  as  I  do,  that  the  same  Divme  Wisdom  which  ordained  the  universe, 
presided  also  at  the  endowment  of  the  brain  with  its  functions ;  that  the 
brain  is  the  organ  of  the  mind,  and  that  mind  is  the  noblest  work  of  God  ; 
convinced,  also,  that  this  discovery  carries  in  its  train  the  most  valuable  un- 
provements  in  education^  morals,  and  m  civil  and  religious  institutions, — I 
cannot  conceive  a  nobler  employment  than  that  of  vmdicating  its  claims  to 
consideration,  and  stemming,  to  the  extent  of  my  feeble  ability,  the  mighty 
flood  of  prejudice  and  injustice  with  which,  like  all  other  important  dis- 
coveries, it  has  been  nearly  overwhelmed.  To  be  recognised,  hereaJfter, 
by  impartial  and  enlightened  men,  as  having  been  in  any  degree  instru- 
mental in  braving  the  storm  of  popular  derision  with  which  Phrenology 
was  at  first  assailed,  will  more  than  satisfy  all  the  ambition  for  posthumous 
fame  which  ever  fired  my  bosom ;  and  I  never  was  so  extravagant  as  to 
expect,  while  alive,  any  reward  from  "  the  great  in  science  and  philosophy" 
except  ridicule  and  dislike.  They  have  chosen  their  part,  and  I  have  chosen 
mine :  the  long  day  will  do  justice  to  all. 

Udinburgm,   October,  1830. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction,  ....... 

Opposition  to  Discoveries,  .         .         .         . 

The  Brain  the  Organ  of  the  Mind,    . 
Plurality  of  Faculties  and  Organs,     . 
Influence  of  Size  on  the  power  of  Organs, 
Temperament  and  Disease  modify  the  effects  of  Size 
Connexion  of  particular  Faculties  and  Organs,  . 
Efforts  of  Metaphysicians,  .... 

■  of  Moralists,  Poets,  and  Divines,  . 

of  Physiologists,  .... 

History  of  Dr.  Gall's  discovery,         .         '. 
Functions  of  the  Nerves  and  Spinal  Marrow,     . 
Principles  of  Phrenology,  .... 

Discrimination  of  Mental  Dispositions  and  Talents, 
The  Brain,  Cerebellum,  and  Skull,     . 
Integuments  of  the  Brain,  .         .         . 

Bones  of  the  Skull, 

Frontal  Sinus,  .         .         .         .         . 

Practical  application  of  the  Principles, 

Length  and  breadth  of  organs,  .... 

Phrenological  Bust, *. 

Forms  of  Organs,      ....... 

Terms  used.       .         .         .         .         .         .         .         , 

Absolute  Size  no  criterion,         .         ,         .         .         , 
Brains  of  Lower  Animals,  ,         .         .         .         , 

Temperaments,  ....... 

Power  and  Activity, 

What  is  a  Faculty?    .         . 
Division  of  the  Faculties,  .         .  . 

B 


Page 

1 


6 
13 
23 
29 
33 
34 
38 
40 
44 
51 
61 
62 
65 
70 
73 
75 
78 
82 
85 
86 
88 
90 
92 
93 
95 
99 
106 


ORGANS 

Order  I.- 

-FEELINGS, 

Genus  I 

Propensities, 

1. 

Amativeness, '    . 

2 

Philoprogenitiveness, 

3. 

Concentrativeness, 

4 

Adhesiveness,     . 

5. 

Combativeness,  . 

6. 

Destructiveness, 
Alimentiveness, 
Love  of  Life,     . 

7. 

SecretivenesS,     . 

8. 

Acquisitiveness, 

9. 

Constructiveness, 

Genus  II. — Sentiments   common   to  Man   with  the 
Lower  Animals, 

10.  Self-Esteem,      . 

11.  Love  of  Approbation, 

12.  Cautiousness,     . 

Genus  III. — Superior  Sentiments, 

13.  Benevolence, 

14.  Veneration, 

15.  Firmness, 

16.  Conscientiousness, 

17.  Hope, 

18.  Wonder,     . 

19.  Ideality,      . 

20.  Wit  or  Mirthfulness,  . 

21.  Imitation, 

Order  II.— INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES, 

'Genus  I. — External  Senses, 
Feeling  or  Touch, 
Taste,      . 

Smell,       .... 
Hearing, 
Sight,       .         .         . 


108 
ib. 
ib. 

113 

126 
140 
146 
154 
173 
176 
178 
191 
204 

216 

ib. 

228 

236 

244 
ib. 
258 
268 
271 
286 
290 
303 
319 
331 

337 

ib. 
348 
349 

ib. 
350 
352 


CONTENTS. 


Genus  II. — Intellectual  Faculties  which  perceive 

EXISTENCE  AND  PHYSICAL  QUALITIES 

22.  Individuality, 

23.  Form, 

24.  Size, 

25.  Weight, 

26.  Coloring, 


Genus  III.- 

-Intellectual  Faculties 
relations  of  external 

WHICH  PERCEIVE 

Objects, 

27. 

Locality, 

. 

. 

28. 

Number, 

. 

29. 

Order, 

, 

30. 

Eventuality, 

. 

31. 

Time, 

. 

32. 

Tune,       . 

. 

33. 

Language, 

General  Observations  on  the  Perceptive  Faculties 


Genus  IV. — Reflecting  Faculties, 

34.  Comparison,      .... 

35.  Causality,  .... 

Modes  of  Activity  of  the  Faculties, 
Of  the  Propensities  and  Sentiments, 
Of  the  Knovs^ing  and  Reflecting  Faculties 
Perception, 
Conception, 
Dreaming, 
Imagination, 
Memory, 
Judgment, 
Consciousness 
Attention, 
Association 
Passion, 

Pleasure  and  Pain, 
Patience  and  Impatience 


xii  CONTENTS. 

.  Joy  and  Grief, 508 

Sympathy,      .         ,         .         .         .         .         .  511 

Habit,  519 

Taste,  ^21 

Effects  of  Size  on  the  Manifestations,       ....  527 

Combinations  in  Size, 535 

Activity, 548 

Practical  Application  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Combinations,  553 

National  Character  and  Developement  of  Brain,        .         .  561 

Objections  to  Phrenology,         .         .         .         .         .         .  584 

Materialism,     ........'.  593 

Injuries  of  the  Brain,        .         .         .         .         .  ,      .         .  600 

Conclusion, 623 

Names  of  Organs  adopted  by  Dr.  Gall,     ....  628 

Organs  in  Previous  Editions  of  this  Work,        .         .         .  630 


APPENDIX. 

No.  I.   Faculties  of  Dr.  Gall,         ...  632 

Index,      .         ...  .         .         .         .         ,         633 


(   xiii   ) 


LIST  OF  FIGURES.* 


A.,  head,   with    large    Self- 

Esteem,  -  -  -  -  218 
Alexander  VI.,  Pope,  head,  (1)  -  536 
Bellingham,  murderer,  skull,    -  167 


Page 

M.,  Rev.  Mr.,  head,  -      81, 109 

Maxwell,  robber,  head,  -  -  547 
Melancthon,  head,  (1)  -  -  536 
Mitchell,  murderer,  head  (large 


Bram,  upper  surface, 

-    66 

No.l.,)        -        -        - 

-  109 

lower  surface,  f 

-    67 

Moore,  profile. 

-399 

Brazil  Indian,  skull. 

-  574 

Negro,  skull. 

-  577 

Burk,  murderei-,  head. 

-    80 

Nerve,  magnified,    - 

-    52 

Ceylonese,  skulls,    - 

150,  190 

New  Hollander,  skull,      - 

33,569 

Charib,  skull,          121,  244, 

536,  568 

New  Zealander,  skull. 

-  572 

Chaucer,  head,  (1)    - 

-  310 

North  American  Indian,  skull,    ib. 

Cobbett,  head,  (1)     - 

-  310 

Ormerod,  Ann, 

-  419 

Cordonnier,  poet,  head,  (2) 

-  218 

Parry,  Captain,  head. 

-  529 

Cun-an,  head,  -        -        - 

-  357 

Peruvian,  skull  (small  No.  2.. 

,)  -  124 

Fisher,  Miss  Clara,  head,  - 

-  336 

Pitt,  profile,  (2) 

-  399 

Frenchman,  skull,    - 

-  236 

Raphael,  skull. 

33.  536 

Frontal  bone,  section  of,  show- 

Rousseau, J.  J.,  head,  (1) 

-  310 

ing  the  Frontal  sinus,    - 

-    75 

Sandwich  Islander,  skull. 

-  579 

George  III,  head,  (2) 

-357 

Shakspeare,  head,  (1) 

-  310 

Gibson,  John,  head. 

-  251 

Sheridan,  profile, 

-  399 

Greek,  ancient,  skull, 

-  581 

Skull  at  birth,  - 

-    72 

H.,  Mrs.,  head. 

-  281 

adult. 

-     ib. 

Haggart,  murderer,  head, 

-    ib. 

open,  showing    falciform 

Handel,  head,  (1)     - 

-  419 

process,  &c. 

-    ib. 

Hare,  murderer,  head. 

-    81 

with  large  Philoprogeni- 

Head  divided  into  regions  by 

tiveness,       -         .         - 

-  124 

Dolci, 

-    20 

with  large  Veneration, 

-  258 

Hette,  Dr.,  skull,      - 

-  258 

Spinal  marrow  and  nei-ves, 

>    56 

Hindoos,  skulls,     167, 190,  236,  567 

Swiss,  skull. 

-  580 

Jervis,  head, 

244,  336 

Tasso,  head,  (1) 

-  294 

Locke,  head,  (1)       - 

-  310 

Wurmser,  General,  skull. 

-  150 

*The  figures  marked  (1)  are  copied  from  engraved  portraits  in  general  circulation; 
those  marked  (2)  are  from  modelled  busts; — the  others  are  taken  from  real  skulls,  or  from 
casts  from  nature,  in  the  collection  of  the  Phrenological  Society. 

The  whole  figures  were  intended  to  be  drawn  to  a  scale  ;  but  the  engraver  has  neglected 
this  in  the  case  of  those  having  a  black  ground.  The  outlines,  however,  accurately  exhibit  the 
forms,  which  are  represented  as  they  exist  in  the  originals,  without  foreshortening. 

f  This  figure  was  copied  by  the  engraver,  by  mistake,  from  an  old  plate,  put  into  his 
hands  merely  to  show  the  manner  in  which  the  brain  was  to  be  represented.  The  minute  de- 
tails are  not  perfectly  correct,  and  the  figure  is  too  long;  but  it  exhibits  the  general  appearance 
ot  the  parts  with  sufficient  accuracy  for  the  purpose  mentioned  on  p.  65 


(  xiv  ) 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  ORGANS. 
Order  I.— FEELINGS. 

Genus  I, — Propensities. 

1.  Amativeness.  Alimentiveness. 

2.  Philoprogenitiveness.  Love  of  Life. 

3.  Concentrativeness.  7.   Secretiveness. 

4.  Adhesiveness.  8.  Acquisitiveness. 

5.  Combativeness.  9.  Constructiveness. 

6.  Destructiveness, 

Genus  IL — Sentiments  common  to  Man  with  the  Lower 
Animals. 

10.  Self-Esteem.  12.  Cautiousness. 

11.  Love  of  Approbation. 

Genus  III. — Superior  Sentiments. 

13.  Benevolence.  18.  Wonder.     , 

14.  Veneration.  19.  Ideality. 

16.  Firmness.  20.  Wit  or  Mirthfulness. 

16.  Conscientiousness.  21.  Imitation. 

17.  Hope. 

Order  II.— INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES. 

.  ,  ,       Genus   I, — External    Senses. 

Feeling  or  Touch.  Hearing. 

Taste.  Sight. 

Smell. 

Genus  II. — Intellectual  Faculties  which  perceive  Existence 
AND  Physical  Qualities. 

22.  Individuality.  25.  Weight. 

23.  Form.  26.  Coloring. 

24.  Size. 

Genus  III. — Intellectual  Faculties  which  perceive  rela- 
tions OP  External  Objects. 

27.  Locality.  31.  Time. 

28.  Number.  32.  Tune. 

29.  Order.  33.  Language. 

30.  Eventuality. 

Genus  IV. — Reflecting  Faculties. 
34.  Comparison.  35.    Causality. 


(    XV    ) 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  ORGANS  ACCORDING  TO  SPURZHEIM. 

Order  T.— FEELINGS,  OR  AFFECTIVE  FACULTIES. 

Genus  I. — Propensities. 

f  Desire  to  live.  5.  Inhabitiveness. 

*  Alimentiveness.  6.  Combativeness. 

1.  Destructiveness.  7.  Secretiveness. 

2.  Amativeness.  8.  Acquisitiveness. 

3.  Philoprogenitiveness.  9.  Constructiveness. 

4.  Adhesiveness. 

Genus  II. — Sentiments. 

10.  Cautiousness.  16.  Conscientiousness. 

11.  Approbativeness.  17.  Hope. 

12.  Self-Esteem.  18.  Marvellousness. 

13.  Benevolence.  19.  Ideality. 

14.  Reverence.  20.  Mirthfulness. 
15    Firmness.  21.  Imitation. 


Order  II.— INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES. 


Genus  I. — External  Senses. 

Voluntary  motion.  Smell. 

Feeling.  '  Hearing. 

Taste.  Sight. 


Genus  II. — Perceptive  Faculties. 

22.  Individuality.  28.  Order. 

23.  Configuration.  '  29.  Calculation. 

24.  Size.  30.  Eventuality. 

25.  Weight  and  resistance.  31.  Time. 

26.  Coloring.  32.  Tune. 

27.  Locality.  33.  Artificial  language. 

Genus  III. — Reflective  Faculties. 
34.  Comparison.  35.  Causality. 


DIRECTIONS  TO  THE  BINDER. 

The  Plate  of  the  Phrenological  Bust  faces  the  Title-Page. 
The  Plate,  representing  Ideality  in  Chaucer,  &c.,  faces  p.  310. 


SYSTEM   OF   PHRENOLOGY, 


INTRODUCTION. 

Phrenology,  derived  from  cpQ7jv  mind,  and  Uyog  discourse,  pro- 
fesses to  be  a  system  of  Philosophy  of  the  Human  Mind,  and,  as 
such,  it  ought  to  throw  light  on  the  primitive  powers  of  feeling  which 
incite  us  to  action,  and  the  capacities  of  thinking  that  guide  our 
exertions  till  we  have  attained  the  object  of  our  desires.  It  was 
first  presented  to  public  consideration  on  the  Continent  of  Europe 
in  1796,  and  in  Britain  in  the  year  1814.  It  has  met  with  stren- 
uous support  from  some  individuals,  and  determined  opposition  from 
others,  while  the  great  body  of  the  public  remain  uninstructed  in  its 
merits.  On  this  account,  it  may  be  useful  to  present,  in  an  intro- 
ductory form,  1st,  A  short  notice  of  the  reception  which  other  dis- 
coveries have  met  with  on  their  first  announcement ;  2dly,  A  brief 
outline  of  the  principles  involved  in  Phrenology  ;  3dly,  An  inquiry 
into  the  presumptions  for  and  against  these  principles,  founded  on 
the  knovm  phenomena  of  human  nature ;  and,  4thly,  A  historical 
sketch  of  their  discovery. 

I  shall  follow  this  course,  not  with  a  view  of  convincing  the  read- 
er that  Phrenology  is  true,  because  nothing  short  of  patient  study 
and  extensive  personal  observation  can  produce  this  conviction,  but 
for  the  purpose  of  presenting  him  with  motives  to  prosecute  the 
mvestigadon  for  his  own  satisfaction. 

1st,  Then,  one  great  obstacle  to  the  reception  of  a  discovery  is 


2  OPPOSITION   TO  DISCOVERIES. 

the  difficulty  which  men  experience  of  at  once  parting  with  old  no- 
tions which  have  been  instilled  into  their  minds  from  infancy,  and 
become  the  stock  of  their  understandings.  Phrenology  has  en- 
countered this  impediment,  but  not  in  a  greater  degree  than  other 
discoveries  which  have  preceded  it.  Mr.  Locke,  in  speaking  of 
the  common  reception  of  new  truths,  says,  "Whoever,  by  the 
most  cogent  arguments,  will  be  prevailed  upon  to  disrobe  himself  at 
once  of  all  his  old  opinions  and  pretensions  to  knowledge  and  learn- 
ing, which,  with  hard  study,  he  hath  all  his  lifetime  been  laboring 
for,  and  turn  himself  out  stark  naked  in  quest  of  fresh  notions.''  All 
the  arguments  that  can  be  used,  will  be  as  little  able  to  prevail  as 
the  wind  did  with  the  traveller  to  part  with  his  cloak,  which  he  held 
only  the  faster."     (Book  iv.  c.  20.  §  11.) 

Professor  Playfair,  in  his  historical  notice  of  discoveries  in 
physical  science,  published  in  the  Supplement  to  the  Encyclopaedia 
Britannica,  observes,  that  "in  every  society  there  are  some  who 
think  themselves  interested  to  maintain  things  in  the  condition  where- 
in they  have  found  them.  The  considerations  are  indeed  sufficiently 
obvious,  which,  in  the  moral  and  political  world,  tend  to  produce 
this  effect,  and  to  give  a  stability  to  human  institutions  often  so  little 
proportionate  to  their  real  value,  or  to  their  general  utility.  Even 
in  matters  purely  intellectual,  and  in  which  the  abstract  truths  of 
arithmetic  and  geometry  seem  alone  concerned,  the  prejudices,  the 
selfishness,  or  the  vanity  of  those  who  pursue  them,  not  unfrequently 
combine  to  resist  improvement,  and  often  engage  no  inconsiderable 
degree  of  talent  in  drawing  back,  instead  of  pushing  forward,  the 
machine  of  science.  The  introduction  of  methods  entirely  new, 
must  often  change  the  relative  place  of  the  men  engaged  in  scien- 
tific pursuits,  and  must  oblige  many,  after  descending  from  the  sta- 
tions they  formerly  occupied,  to  take  a  lower  position  in  the  scale 
of  intellectual  improvement.  The  enmity  of  such  men,  if  they  be 
not  animated  by  a  spirit  of  real  candor  and  the  love  of  truth,  is 
likely  to  be  directed  against  methods  by  which  their  vanity  is  mor- 
tified, and  their  importance  lessened." — Dissertation,  part  ii.  p.  27. 

Every  age  has  afforded  proofs  of  the  justness  of  these  obser- 
vations.    "  The  disciples  of  the  various  philosophical  schools  of 


OPPOSITION    TO    DISCOVERIES.  3 

Greece  inveighed  against  each  other,  and  made  reciprocal  accusa- 
tions of  impiety  and  perjury.  Tlie  people,  in  their  turn,  detested 
the  philosophers,  and  accused  those  who  investigated  the  causes 
of  things,  of  presumptuously  invading  the  rights  of  the  Divinity. 
Pythagoras  was  driven  from  Athens  on  account  of  his  novel  opin- 
ions ;  and  for  the  same  reason  Anaxagoras  was  confined  in  prison. 
Democritus  was  treated  as  a  fool  by  the  Abderites  for  endeavor- 
ing to  find  out  the  cause  of  madness  by  dissections ;  and  Socrates, 
for  having  demonstrated  the  unity  of  God,  was  forced  to  drink  the 
juice  of  hemlock.  "—Dr.  Spurzheim's  Physiog.  Syst. 

But  let  us  attend  in  particular  to  the  reception  of  the  three  great- 
est discoveries  that  have  adorned  the  annals  of  philosophy,  and  mark 
the  spirit  with  which  they  were  hailed. 

Mr.  Playfair,  speaking  of  the  treatment  of  Galileo,  says  :  "  Gal- 
ileo was  twice  brought  before  the  Inquisition.  The  first  time,  a 
council  of  seven  cardinals  pronounced  a  sentence  which,  for  the 
sake  of  those  disposed  to  believe  that  power  can  subdue  truth, 
ought  never  to  be  forgotten  ;  viz.  That  to  maintain  the  sun  to  be 
immovable,  and  without  local  motion,  in  the  centre  of  the  world, 
is  an  absurd  proposition,  false  in  philosophy,  heretical  in  religion, 
and  contrary  to  the  testimony  of  Scripture  ;  and  it  is  equally  absurd 
and  false  in  philosophy  to  assert,  that  the  earth  is  not  immovable 
in  the  centre  of  the  world,  and,  considered  theologically,  equally 
erroneous  and  heretical. " 

Mr.  Hume,  the  historian,  mentions  the  fact  that  Harvey  was 
treated  with  great  contumely  on  account  of  his  discovery  of  the 
circulation  of  the  blood,  and  in  consequence  lost  his  practice.  An 
eloquent  writer,  in  the  94th  Number  of  the  Edinburgh  Review, 
when  adverting  to  the  treatment  of  Harvey,  observes,  that  "the 
discoverer  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood — a  discovery  which,  if 
measured  by  its  consequences  on  physiology  and  medicine,  was  the 
greatest  ever  made  since  physic  was  cultivated — suffers  no  diminu- 
tion of  his  reputation  in  our  day,  from  the  incredulity  with  which 
his  doctrine  was  received  by  some,  the  effrontery  with  which  it  was 
claimed  by  others,  or  the  knavery  with  which  it  was  attributed  to 
former  physiologists,  by  those  who  could  not  deny  and  would  not 


4  OFl'OSITION    TO    DISCOVERIES. 

praise  it.  The  very  names  of  these  envious  and  dishonest  enemies 
of  Harvey  are  scarcely  remembered ;  and  the  honor  of  this  great 
discovery  now  rests,  beyond  all  dispute,  with  the  great  philosopher 
who  made  it."  This  shows  that  Harvey,  in  his  day,  was  treated 
exactly  as  Dr.  Gall  has  been  in  ours ;  and  if  Phrenology  be  true, 
these,  or  similar  terms,  may  one  day  be  apphed  by  posterity  to  him 
and  his  present  opponents. 

Again,  Professor  Playfair,  speaking  of  the  discovery  of  the 
composition  of  light  by  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  says,  "Though  the 
discovery  now  communicated  had  every  thing  to  recommend  it 
which  can  arise  from  what  is  great,  new,  and  singular  ;  though  it 
was  not  a  theory  or  system  of  opinions,  but  the  generalization  of 
facts  made  known  by  experiments,  and  though  it  was  brought  for- 
ward in  a  most  simple  and  unpretending  form,  a  host  of  enemies 
appeared,  each  eager  to  obtain  the  unfortunate  pre-eminence  of  be- 
ing the  first  to  attack  conclusions  which  the  unanimous  voice  of 
posterity  was  to  confirm."  (P.  56.)  "Among  them,  one  of  the 
first  was  Father  Pardies,  who  wrote  against  the  experiments,  and 
what  he  was  pleased  to  call  the  Hypothesis  of  Newton.  A  sat- 
isfactory and  calm  reply  convinced  him  of  his  mistake,  which  he 
had  the  candor  very  readily  to  acknowledge.  A  countryman  of 
his,  Mariotte,  was  more  difficult  to  be  reconciled,  and  though  very 
conversant  with  experiment,  appears  never  to  have  succeeded  in 
repeating  the  experiments  of  Newton." 

Here,  then,  we  see  that  persecution,  condemnation,  and  ridi- 
cule, awaited  Galileo,  Harvey,  and  Newton,  for  announcing  three 
great  physical  discoveries.  In  mental  philosophy,  the  conduct  of 
mankind  has  been  similar. 

Aristotle  and  Des  Cartes  "may  be  quoted  as  examples  of  the 
good  and  bad  fortune  of  new  doctrines.  The  ancient  antagonists 
of  Aristotle  caused  his  books  to  be  burned.  Afterwards,  these 
books  were  received  with  a  veneration  equal  to  that  due  to  inspira- 
tion itself;  and  even  so  late  as  the  time  of  Francis  I.,  the  writings 
of  Ramus  against  Aristotle  were  publicly  burned,  his  adversaries 
were  declared  heretics,  and,  under  pain  of  being  sent  to  the  gal- 
leys, philosophers  were  prohibited  from  combating  his  opinions 


OPPOSITION   TO   DISCOVERIES.  5 

At  the  present  time  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle  is  no  longer 
spoken  of.  Again,  Des  Cartes  was  persecuted  for  teaching  the 
doctrine  of  innate  ideas ;  he  was  accused  of  Atheism,  though  he 
had  written  on  the  existence  of  God ;  and  his  books  were  burnt 
by  order  of  the  University  of  Paris.  A  short  time  after,  the  same 
University  adopted  the  doctrine  of  Des  Cartes  in  favor  of  innate 
ideas  ;  and  when  Locke  and  Condillac  attacked  it,  there  was  a 
general  cry  of  materialism  and  fatalism.  Thus,  the  same  opinions 
were  considered  at  one  time  as  dangerous  because  they  were  new, 
and  at  another  as  useful  because  they  were  ancient.  What  is  to 
be  inferred  from  this,  but  that  man  deserves  pity;  that  the  opin- 
ions of  contemporaries,  in  respect  to  the  truth  or  falsehood,  and 
the  good  or  bad  consequences  of  a  new  doctrine,  are  altogether 
suspicious  ;  and  that  the  only  object  of  an  author  ought  to  be  that 
of  pointing  out  the  truth?" — Dr.  Spurzheim^s  Physiog.  Syst.  p. 
488. 

To  these  extracts  many  more  might  be  added  of  a  similar  na- 
ture ;  but  enough  has  been  said  to  demonstrate,  that,  by  the  ordi- 
nary practice  of  mankind,  great  discoveries  are  treated  with  hos- 
tility by  the  generation  to  whom  they  are  addressed. 

If,  therefore.  Phrenology  be  a  discovery  at  all,  and  especially 
if  it  be  also  important,  it  must  of  necessity  come  into  colhsion,  on 
the  most  weighty  topics,  with  the  opinions  of  men  hitherto  vener- 
ated as  authorities  in  physiology  and  the  philosophy  of  mind  ;  and, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  world,  nothing  except  opposition, 
ridicule,  and  abuse,  could  be  expected  on  its  first  announcement. 

If  we  are  to  profit,  however,  by  the  lessons  of  history,  we 
ought,  after  surveying  these  mortifying  examples  of  human  weak- 
ness and  wickedness,  to  dismiss  from  our  minds  every  prejudice 
against  our  present  subject,  founded  on  its  hostile  reception  by 
men  of  established  reputation  of  the  present  day.  He  who  does 
not  perceive  that  if  Phrenology  shall  prove  to  be  true,  posterity 
will  view  the  contumelies  heaped  by  the  philosophers  of  this  gen- 
eration on  its  founders  as  another  dark  speck  in  the  history  of 
scientific  discovery,  and  he  who  does  not  feel  anxious  to  avoid  all 
participation  in  this  ungenerous  treatment,  has  reaped  no  moral  im- 


6  THE  BRAIN  THE  ORGAN  OF  THE  MIND. 

provement  from  the  records  of  intolerance  which  we  have  now 
contemplated :  but  every  enlightened  individual  will  say,  Let  us 
dismiss  prejudice,  and  calmly  listen  to  evidence  and  reason ;  let  us 
not  encounter  even  the  chance  of  adding  our  names  to  the  melan- 
choly list  of  the  enemies  of  mankind,  by  refusing,  on  the  strength 
of  mere  prejudice,  to  be  instructed  in  the  new  doctrines  when  sub- 
mitted to  our  consideration  ;  let  us  inquire,  examine,  and  decide. 

These,  I  trust,  are  the  sentiments  of  the  reader  ;  and  on  the 
faith  of  their  being  so,  I  shall  proceed,  in  the  second  place,  to 
state  very  briefly  the  principles  of  Phrenology  itself. 

It  is  a  notion  inculcated,  often  indirectly  no  doubt,  but  not  less 
strongly,  by  highly  venerated  teachers  of  intellectual  philosophy, 
that  we  are  acquainted  with  Mind  and  with  Body,  as  two  distinct 
and  separate  entities.  The  anatomist  treats  of  the  body,  and  the 
logician  and  moral  philosopher  of  the  mind,  as  if  they  were  sepa- 
rate subjects  of  investigation,  either  not  at  all,  or  only  in  a  remote 
and  unimportant  degree  connected.  In  common  society,  too,  men 
speak  of  the  dispositions  and  faculties  of  the  mind,  without  its 
occurring  to  them  that  they  are  in  close  connexion  with  the  body. 

But  the  Human  Mind,  as  it  exists  in  this  world,  cannot,  by  it- 
self, become  an  object  of  philosophical  investigation.  Placed  in  a 
material  world,  it  cannot  act  or  be  acted  upon,  but  through  the 
medium  of  an  organic  apparatus.  The  soul  sparkling  in  the  eye 
of  beauty  does  not  transmit  its  sweet  influence  to  a  kindred  spirit, 
but  through  the  filaments  of  an  optic  nerve  ;  and  even  the  bursts 
of  eloquence  which  flow  from  the  lips  of  the  impassioned  orator, 
when  mind  appears  to  transfuse  itself  almost  directly  into  mind, 
emanate  from,  and  are  transmitted  to,  corporeal  beings,  through  a 
voluminous  apparatus  of  organs.  If  we,  trace  the  mind's  progress 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  every  appearance  which  it  presents 
reminds  us  of  this  important  truth.  In  earliest  life  the  mental 
powers  are  feeble  as  the  body,  but  when  manhood  comes,  they 
glow  with  energy,  and  expand  with  power  ;  till,  at  last,  the  chill  of 
age  makes  the  limbs  totter,  and  the  fancy's  fires  decay. 

Nay,  not  only  the  great  stages  of  our  infancy,  vigor,  and  de- 


THE  BRAIN  THE  ORGAN  OF  THE  MIND.  ~ 

cline,  but  the  experience  of  every  hour,  remind  us  of  our  alliance 
with  the  dust.  The  lowering  clouds  and  stormy  sky  depress  the 
spirits  and  enerve  the  mind  ; — after  short  and  stated  intervals  of 
toil,  our  wearied  faculties  demand  repose  in  sleep  ;  famine  or  dis- 
ease is  capable  of  levelling  the  proudest  energies  in  the  earth ;  and 
even  the  finest  portion  of  our  compound  being,  the  Mind  itself,  ap- 
parently becomes  diseased,  and,  leaving  Nature's  course,  flies  to 
self-destruction  to  escape  from  wo. 

These  phenomena  must  be  referred  to  the  organs  with  which, 
in  this  life,  the  mind  is  connected  ;  but  if  the  organs  exert  so  great 
an  effect  over  the  mental  manifestations,  no  system  of  philosophy 
is  entitled  to  consideration,  which  would  neglect  their  influence, 
and  treat  the  thinking  principle  as  a  disembodied  spirit.  The  phre- 
nologist, therefore,  regards  man  as  he  exists  in  this  sublunary 
world  ',  and  desires  to  investigate  the  laws  which  regulate  the  con- 
nexion between  the  organs  and  the  mind,  but  without  attempting  to 
discover  the  essence  of  either,  or  the  manner  in  which  they  are 
united. 

It  may  be  demonstrated,  therefore,  that  the  popular  notion  that 
we  are  acquainted  with  mind  unconnected  with  matter,  is  founded 
on  an  illusion,  that,  in  point  of  fact,  we  do  not  in  this  life  know 
mind  as  one  entity,  and  body  as  another  ;  but  that  we  are  familiar 
only  with  the  compound  existence  of  mind  and  body,  which  act 
constantly  together,  and  are  so  intimately  connected  that  every 
state  of  mind  involves  a  corresponding  state  of  certain  corporeal 
organs,  and  every  state  of  these  organs  involves  a  certain  condition 
of  mind.  A  few  remarks  will  suffice  to  place  this  doctrine  in  its 
proper  light. 

1st,  We  are  not  conscious  of  the  existence  and  functions  of  the 
organs  by  which  the  mind  operates  in  this  life,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, many  acts  appear  to  us  to  be  purely  mental,  which  experi- 
ment and  observation  prove  incontestably  to  depend  on  corporeal 
organs.  For  example,  in  stretching  out  or  v/ithdrawing  the  arm, 
we  are  conscious  only  of  an  act  of  the  will,  and  of  the  consequent 
movement  of  the  arm,  but  have  no  consciousness  of  the  apparatus 
by  means  of  which  the  volition  is  carried  into  execution.     Experi 


8  THE  BRAIN  THE  ORGAN  OF  THE  MIND. 

ment  and  observation,  however,  demonstrate  the  existence  of 
bones  of  the  arms  curiously  articulated  and  adapted  to  motion,  of 
muscles  endowed  with  powers  of  contraction,  and  attached  with 
infinite  skill  to  the  bones  so  as  to  put  them  in  motion  with  the  least 
effort,  and  in  the  most  beneficial  manner  ;  and,  lastly,  three  sets  of 
nervous  fibres  all  running  in  one  sheath,  namely,  one  which  com- 
municates feeling,  a  second  which  transmits  motion,  and  a  third 
which  communicates  to  the  mind  information  of  tlie  state  of  the 
muscles  when  acted  on  by  the  other  two ;  and  all  these  organs 
must  combine  and  act  harmoniously  before  the  arm  can  be  moved 
by  the  will  on  any  one  occasion.  All  that  a  person  uninstructed  in 
anatomy  knows  is,  that  he  wills  the  motion,  and  that  it  takes  place; 
the  whole  act  appears  to  him  to  be  purely  mental,  and  only  the 
thing  moved,  namely,  the  arm,  is  conceived  to  be  corporeal. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  positively  established  by  anatomical  and  physi- 
ological investigation,  that  this  conclusion  is  erroneous — that  the 
act  is  not  purely  mental,  but  is  accomplished  by  the  instrumentality 
of  the  various  organs  now  enumerated.  In  like  manner,  every  act 
of  vision  is  connected  with  a  certain  state  of  the  optic  nerve,  and 
every  act  of  hearmg,  with  a  certain  state  of  the  tympanum,  and 
other  parts  of  the  auditory  apparatus,  of  the  existence  and  func- 
tions of  which  we  are  altogether  uninformed  by  consciousness. 

Now,  I  go  one  step  farther  in  the  same  path,  and  state,  that 
every  act  of  the  will,  every  flight  of  imagination,  every  glow  of 
affection,  and  every  effort  of  the  understanding  in  this  life,  is  per- 
formed by  means  of  an  apparatus  of  organs  unknown  to  us  through 
consciousness,  but  which  are  capable  of  demonstration  by  experi- 
ment and  observation  ;  in  other  words,  the  brain  is  the  organ  of  the 
mind.  The  greatest  anatomists  admit  this  proposition  without  hes- 
itation. The  celebrated  Dr.  CuUen  of  Edinburgh  states,  that  "  the 
part  of  our  body  more  immediately 'connected  with  the  mind,  and 
therefore  more  especially  concerned  in  every  affection  of  the  intel- 
lectual functions,  is  the  common  origin  of  the  nerves ;  which  I 
shall,  in  what  follows,  speak  of  under  the  appellation  of  the  Brain." 
Again,  the  same  author  says,  "  We  cannot  doubt  that  the  opera- 
tions of  our  intellect  always  depend  upon  certain  motions  taking 


THE  BRAIN  THE  ORGAN  OF  THE  MIND.         9 

place  in  the  brain."  The  late  Dr.  Gregory,  when  speaking  of 
memory,  imagination,  and  judgment,  observes,  that  "  Although  at 
first  sight  these  faculties  appear  to  be  so  purely  mental  as  to  have 
no  connexion  with  the  body,  yet  certain  diseases  which  obstruct 
them  prove,  that  a  certain  state  of  the  brain  is  necessary  to  their 
proper  exercise,  and  that  the  brain  is  the  primary  organ  of  the  in- 
ternal powers."  The  great  physiologist  of  Germany,  Blumen- 
bach,  says,  "  That  the  mind  is  closely  connected  with  the  brain, 
is  demonstrated  by  our  consciousness,  and  by  the  mental  distur- 
bances which  ensue  upon  affections  of  the  brain."  (Elliotson's 
translation,  4th  edit.  vol.  i.  p.  196.)  Magendie,  a  celebrated 
French  physiologist,  says,  "The  brain  is  the  material  instrument 
of  thought.  This  is  proved  by  a  multitude  of  experiments  and 
facts." 

Dr.  Neil  Arnott,  in  his  recent  work  on  Natural  Philosophy, 
writes  thus  :  "  The  laws  of  mind  which  man  can  discover  by  rea- 
son, are  not  laws  of  independent  mind,  but  of  mind  in  connexion 
with  body,  and  influenced  by  the  bodily  condition.  It  has  been 
believed  by  many,  that  the  nature  of  mind  separate  from  body,  is 
to  be  at  once  all-knowing  and  intelligent.  But  mind  connected 
with  body,  can  only  acquire  knowledge  slowly,  through  the  bodily 
organs  of  sense,  and  more  or  less  perfectly,  according  as  these  or- 
gans and  the  central  brain  are  perfect.  A  human  being  born  blind 
and  deaf,  and  therefore  remaining  dumb,  as  in  the  noted  case  of 
the  boy  Mitchell,  grows  up  closely  to  resemble  an  automaton ;  and 
an  originally  misshapen  or  deficient  brain,  causes  idiocy  for  life. 
Childhood,  maturity,  dotage,  which  have  such  differences  of  bodily 
powers,  have  corresponding  differences  of  mental  faculty :  and  as 
no  two  bodies,  so  no  two  minds,  in  their  external  manifestation, 
are  quite  alike.  Fever,  or  a  blow  on  the  head,  will  change  the 
most  gifted  individual  into  a  maniac,  causing  the  lips  of  virgin  in- 
nocence to  utter  the  most  revolting  obscenity,  and  those  of  pure 
religion,  to  speak  the  most  horrible  blasphemy  :  and  most  cases 
of  madness  and  eccentricity  can  now  be  traced  to  a  peculiar  state 
of  the  brain."  (Introduction,  p.  xxiii.)  Let  it  be  observed  that 
these  authors  are  nowise  inclined  to  support  Phrenology. 

2 


10  THE  BRAIN  THE  ORGAN  OF  THE  MIND. 

The  fact  that  the  mental  phenomena  of  which  we  are  conscious 
are  the  result  of  mind  and  brain  acting  together,  is  farther  establish- 
ed by  the  effects  of  swooning,  of  compression  of  the  bram,  and  of 
sleep.  In  profound  sleep,  consciousness  is  entirely  suspended  : 
this  fact  is  explicable  on  the  principle  of  the  organ  of  the  mind 
being  then  in  a  state  of  repose  ;  but  altogether  mconsistent  with 
the  idea  of  the  immaterial  principle,  or  the  mind  itself,  being  capa- 
ble of  acting  independently  of  the  brain  ;  for  if  this  were  the  case, 
thinking  should  never  be  interrupted  by  any  material  cause.  In  a 
swoon,  blood  is  rapidly  withdrawn  from  the  brain,  and  conscious- 
ness is  for  the  moment  obhterated  ;  again,  where  part  of  the  brain 
has  been  laid  bare  by  an  injury  inflicted  on  the  skull,  it  has  been 
found  that  consciousness  could  be  suspended  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
surgeon,  by  merely  pressing  on  the  brain  with  his  fingers,  and  that 
it  could  be  restored  by  withdrawing  the  pressure. 

A  valuable  authority  on  this  point  is  furnished  by  the  Edinburgh 
Review.  The  author  of  the  article  on  the  nervous  system  in  the 
94th  Number  of  that  work,  says,  "  Almost  from  the  first  casual 
inspection  of  animal  bodies,  the  brain  was  regarded  as  an  organ  of 
primary  dignity,  and  more  particularly  in  the  human  subject — the 
seat  of  thought  and  feeling,  the  centre  of  all  sensation,  the  messen- 
ger of  intellect,  the  presiding  organ  of  the  bodily  frame."  "All 
this  superiority  (of  man  over  the  brutes,)  all  these  faculties  which 
elevate  and  dignify  him,  this  reasoning  power,  this  moral  sense, 
these  capacities  of  happiness,  these  high  aspiring  hopes,  are  /eZf, 
and  enjoyed,  and  manifested,  by  means  of  his  superior  nervous 
system.  Its  injury  weakens,  its  imperfection  limits,  its  destruc- 
tion (humanly  speaking)  ends  tliem." 

In  addition  to  these  authorities,  I  may  remark,  that  conscious- 
ness or  feeling  localizes  the  mind  in  the  head,  and  gives  us  a  full 
conviction  that  it  is  situated  there  ;  but  it  does  not  reveal  what 
substance  is  in  the  interior  of  the  skull.  It  does  not  tell  whether 
the  mind  occupies  an  airy  dome  ;  a  richly  furnished  mansion  ;  one 
apartment,  or  many  ;  or  in  what  state  or  condition  it  resides  in  its 
appointed  place.  It  is  only  on  opening  the  head  that  we  discover 
the  skull  to  contain  brain  ;  and  then,  by  an  act  of  the  understand- 


THE  BRAIN  THE  ORGAN  OF  THE  MIND.  U 


operations. 

It  is  worthy  of  observation  also,  that  the  popular  notions  of  the 
independence  of  the  mind  on  the  body  are  modern,  and  the  off- 
spring of  philosophical  theories  that  have  sprung  up  chiefly  since 
the  days  of  Locke.  In  Shakspeare,  and  our  older  writers,  the 
brain  is  frequently  used  as  implying  the  mental  functions  ;  and, 
even  in  the  present  day,  the  language  of  the  vulgar,  which  is  less 
affected  by  philosophical  theories  than  that  of  polite  scholars,  is 
more  in  accordance  with  nature.  "  A  stupid  person  is  vulgarly 
called  a  numb-sfctf/Z,  a  thick-head,  or  said  to  be  addle-pated;  badly 
furnished  in  the  upper-story  ;  while  a  clever  person  is  said  to  be 
strong-headed,  to  have  plenty  of  brains  ;  a  madman  is  called  wrong 
in  the  head,  touched  in  the  noddle,  &c.  When  a  catarrh  chiefly 
affects  the  head,  we  complain  of  stupidity,  because  we  have  such 
a  cold  in  the  head,"  &c.  (Elliotson's  Blumenbach,  4th  edit.  p. 
66.) 

The  principle  which  I  have  so  much  insisted  on,  that  we  are 
not  conscious  of  the  existence  and  functions  of  the  organs  by  which 
the  mind  acts,  explains  the  source  of  the  metaphysical  notion 
which  has  affected  modern  language,  that  we  know  the  mind  as 
an  entity  by  itself.  The  acts  which  really  result  from  the  combin- 
ed action  of  the  mind  and  its  organs,  appear,  previous  to  anatomi- 
cal and  pathological  investigation,  to  be  produced  by  the  mind 
exclusively  ;  and  hence  have  arisen  the  neglect  and  contempt  with 
which  the  organs  have  been  treated,  and  the  ridicule  cast  upon 
those  who  have  endeavored  to  speak  of  them  as  important  to  the 
philosophy  of  mind.  After  the  explanations  now  given,  the  reader 
will  appreciate  the  real  value  of  the  following  statement  by  Mr. 
Jeffrey,  in  his  strictures  on  the  second  edition  of  this  work,  in 
the  88th  number  of  the  Edinburgh  Review.  His  words  are, 
"The  truth  is,  we  do  not  scruple  to  say  it,  that  there  is  not  the 
smallest  reason  for  supposing  that  the  mind  ever  operates  through 
the  agency  of  any  material  organs,  except  in  its  perception  of  ma- 
terial objects,  or  in  its  spontaneous  movements  of  the  body  which 


12  THE  BRAIN  THE  ORGAN  OF  THE  3IIND. 

it  inhabits."  And,  "  There  is  not  the  least  reason  to  suppose  that 
any  of  our  faculties,  but  those  which  connect  us  with  external 
objects,  or  direct  the  movements  of  our  bodies,  act  by  material 
organs  at  all ;"  that  is  to  say,  that  feeling,  fancy,  and  reflection,  are 
acts  so  purely  mental,  that  they  have  no  connexion  with  organiza- 
tion. 

Long  before  Mr.  Jeffrey  penned  these  sentences,  however.  Dr. 
Thomas  Brown  had  written,  even  in  the  Edinburgh  Review,  that 
"  Memory,  imagination,  and  judgment,  may  be  all  set  to  sleep  by 
a  few  grains  of  a  very  common  and  simple  drug  ;"  and  Dr.  Cullen, 
Blumenbach,  Dr.  Gregory,  Magendie,  and,  in  short,  all  physio- 
logical authors,  had  published  positive  statements  that  the  mental 
faculties  are  connected  with  the  brain. 

What,  then,  does  the  proposition  that  the  brain  is  the  organ  of 
the  mind  imply?  Let  us  take  the  case  of  the  eye  as  somewhat 
analogous.  If  the  eye  be  the  organ  of  vision,  it  will  be  conceded, 
first.  That  sight  cannot  be  enjoyed  without  its  instrumentality ; 
secondly,  That  every  act  of  vision  must  be  accompanied  by  a  cor- 
responding state  of  the  organ  ;  and,  vice  versa,  that  every  change 
of  condition  in  the  organ  must  influence  sight ;  and,  thirdly.  That 
the  perfection  of  vision  will  be  in  relation  to  the  perfection  of  the 
organ.  In  like  manner,  if  the  brain  be  the  organ  of  the  mind,  it 
will  follow  that  the  mind  does  not  act  in  this  life  independently  of 
its  organ  ;  and  hence,  that  every  emotion  and  judgment  of  which 
we  are  conscious,  are  the  result  of  mind  and  its  organ  acting  to- 
gether. Secondly,  That  every  mental  affection  must  be  accompa- 
nied with  a  corresponding  state  of  the  organ;  and,  vice  versa, 
every  state  of  the  organ  must  be  attended  by  a  certain  condition 
of  the  mind.  And,  thirdly,  That  the  perfection  of  the  manifesta- 
tions of  the  mind  will  bear  a  relation  to  the  perfection  of  its  organ, 
just  as  perfection  of  vision  bears  a  relation  to  the  perfection  of  the 
eye.  These  propositions  appear  to  be  incontrovertible  ;  and  to 
follow  as  necessary  consequences,  from  the  simple  fact  that  the 
mind  acts  by  means  of  organization.  But  if  they  be  well-founded, 
how  important  a  study  does  that  of  the  organ  of  the  mind  become' 


I 


PLURALITY  OF  FACULTIES  AND  ORGANS.         13 

It  is  the  Study  of  mind  itself,  in  the  only  condition  in  which  it  is 
known  to  us.  And  the  very  fact  that  in  past  ages,  mind  has  been 
studied  without  reference  to  organization,  accounts  for  the  melan- 
choly truth,  that  up  to  the  present  day  no  philosophy  of  mind  suited 
to  practical  purposes  exists. 

Holding  it  then  as  established  by  the  evidence  of  the  most  es- 
teemed physiologists,  and  also  by  observation,  that  the  brain  is  the 
organ  of  the  mind,  and  that  the  state  of  the  brain  influences  its 
state,  the  next  question  which  presents  itself  is.  Whether  the  mind 
in  every  act  employs  the  whole  brain  as  one  organ,  or  whether 
separate  faculties  of  the  mind  are  connected  with  distinct  portions 
of  the  brain  as  their  respective  organs?  The  following  considera- 
tions may  enable  us  to  solve  this  question  : 

1st,  In  all  ascertained  instances,  different  functions  are  never 
performed  by  the  same  organ,  but,  the  reverse  :  each  function  has 
an  organ  for  itself :  thus,  the  stomach  digests  food,  the  hver  se- 
cretes bile,  the  heart  propels  the  blood,  the  eyes  see,  the  ears 
hear,  the  tongue  tastes,  and  the  nose  smells.  Nay,  on  analysing 
these  examples,  it  is  found  that  wherever  the  function  is  compound, 
each  element  of  it  is  performed  by  means  of  a  distinct  organ  ;  thus, 
to  accomplish  taste  there  is  one  nerve,  whose  office  is  to  move  the 
tongue,  another  nerve  whose  duty  it  is  to  communicate  the  ordina- 
ry sense  of  feeling  to  the  tongue,  and  a  third  nerve  which  conveys 
the  sensations  of  taste.  A  similar  combination  of  nerves  takes 
place  in  the  hands,  arms,  and  other  parts  of  the  body,  which  are 
the  organs  of  feehng  ;  namely,  one  nerve  gives  motion,  another 
feeling,  and  a  third  conveys  to  the  mind  a  knowledge  of  the  state 
of  the  organ;  and,  except  in  the  case  of  the  tongue,  all  these 
nerves  are  blended  in  one  common  sheath. 

In  the  economy  of  the  human  frame,  there  is  no  ascertained 
example  of  one  nerve  performing  two  functions,  such  as  feeling 
and  communicating  motion,  or  seeing  and  hearing,  or  tasting  and 
smelling.  In  the  case  of  the  brain,  therefore,  analogy  would  lead 
us  to  expect,  that  if  reasoning  be  an  act  different  from  loving  or 
hating,  there  will  be  one  organ  for  reasoning,  another  for  loving, 
and  a  third  for  hating. 


14         PLURALITY  OF  FACULTIES  AND  ORGANS. 

2dly,  *  It  is  an  indisputed  truth,  that  the  various  mental  powers 
of  man  appear  in  succession,  and,  as  a  general  rule,  that  the  re- 
flecting or  reasoning  faculties  are  those  which  arrive  latest  at  per- 
fection. In  the  child,  the  powers  of  observing  the  existence  and 
qualities  of  external  objects  arrive  much  sooner  at  their  maturity 
than  the  reasoning  faculties.  Daily  observation  shows  that  the 
brain  undergoes  a  corresponding  change  ;  whereas  we  have  no 
evidence  that  the  immaterial  principle  varies  in  its  powers  from 
year  to  year.  If  the  brain,  as  a  whole,  is  the  organ  of  the  mind, 
this  successive  developement  of  faculties  is  utterly  at  variance  with 
what  we  should  expect  a  priori;,  because,  if  the  general  organ  is 
fitted  for  manifesting  with  success  one  mental  faculty,  it  ought  to 
be  equally  so  for  the  operation  of  all,  which  we  see  is  not  the  case. 
Observation,  indeed,  shows  that  different  parts  of  the  brain  are 
really  developed  at  different  periods  of  life.  In  infancy,  according 
to  Chaussier,  the  cerebellum  forms  one-fifteenth  of  the  encephalic 
mass ;  and  in  adult  age,  from  one-sixth  to  one-eighth,  its  size  be- 
ing thus  in  strict  accordance  with  the  energy  of  the  propensity  of 
which  it  is  the  organ.  In  childhood,  the  middle  part  of  the  fore- 
head generally  predominates  ;  in  later  life,  the  upper  lateral  parts 
become  more  prominent,  which  facts  also  are  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  periods  of  unfolding  of  the  knowing  and  reasoning  powers. 

Sdly,  Genius  is  almost  always  partial,  which  it  ought  not  to  be, 
if  the  organ  of  the  mind  were  single.  A  genius  for  poetry,  for 
mechanics,  for  drawing,  for  music,  or  for  mathematics,  sometimes 
appears  at  a  very  early  age  in  individuals,  who,  in  regard  to  all 
other  pursuits,  are  mere  ordinary  men,  and  who,  with  every  effort, 
can  never  attain  to  any  thing  above  mediocrity. 

4thly,  The  phenomena  of  dreaming  are  at  variance  with  the  sup- 
position of  the  mind  manifesting  all  its  faculties  by  means  of  a  single 
organ,  while  they  are  quite  consistent  with,  and  explicable  by,  that 
of  a  plurality  of  organs.  In  dreaming,  the  mind  experiences  nu- 
merous vivid  emotions,  such  as  those  of  fear,  joy,  affection,  arising, 

*The  following  instances  are  taken  from  Dr.  Andrew  Combe's  Observations 
on  Dr.  Barclay's  Objections  to  Phrenology,  published  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
Phrenological  Society,  page  413. 


PLURALITY  OF  FACULTIES  AND  ORGANS.  15 

succeeding  one  another,  and  departing  without  control  from  the 
intellectual  powers  ; — or,  it  is  filled  with  a  thousand  varied  con- 
ceptions, sometimes  connected  and  rational,  but  more  frequently 
disjointed  and  absurd,  and  all  differing  widely  from  the  waking 
operations  of  the  mind,  in  wanting  consistency,  and  sense.  These 
phenomena  harmonize  remarkably  with  the  doctrine  of  a  variety  of 
faculties  and  organs,  some  of  which,  being  active,  communicate 
those  disordered  ideas  and  feelings  which  constitute  a  dream,  while 
the  repose  of  others  permits  the  disordered  action  characteristic  of 
the  fancy  in  sleep. 

Were  the  organ  of  mind  single,  it  is  clear  that  all  the  faculties 
should  be  asleep  or  awake  to  the  same  extent  at  the  same  time  ; 
or,  in  other  words,  that  no  such  thing  as  dreaming  could  take 
place. 

5f/i/y,  The  admitted  phenomena  of  Partial  Idiocy  and  Partial 
Insanity,  are  so  plainly  and  strongly  in  contradiction  with  the 
notion  of  a  single  organ  of  mind,  that  Pinel  himself,  no  friend  to 
Phrenology,  asks  if  their  phenomena  can  be  reconciled  to  such  a 
conception. 

Partial  Idiocy  is  that  state  in  which  an  individual  manifests  one 
or  several  powers  of  the  mind  with  an  ordinary  degree  of  energy, 
while  he  is  deprived  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  of  the  power  of 
manifesting  all  the  others.  Pinel,  Haslam,  Rush,  Esquirol,  and, 
in  short,  every  writer  on  insanity,  speaks  of  the  partial  develope- 
ment  of  certain  mental  powers  in  idiots  ;  and  Rush  in  particular 
not  only  alludes  to  the  powers  of  intellect,  but  also  to  the  partial 
possession  of  the  moral  faculties.  Some  idiots,  he  observes,  are 
as  remarkable  for  correct  moral  feelings  as  some  great  geniuses  are 
for  the  reverse.  In  his  Traite  du  Goitre  et  de  la  Cretinisme, 
Fodere  thus  speaks,  p.  133  : — "It  is  remarked,  that,  by  an  inex- 
plicable singularity  J  some  of  these  individuals  (cretins,)  endowed 
with  so  weak  minds,  are  born  with  a  particular  talent  for  copying 
paintings,  for  rhyming,  or  for  music.  Ihave  known  several  who 
taught  themselves  to  play  passably  on  the  organ  and  harpsichord  ; 
others  who  understood,  without  ever  having  had  a  master,  the  re- 
pairing of  watches,  and  the  construction  of  some  pieces  of  mechan 


16         PLURALITY  OF  FACULTIES  AND  ORGANS. 

ism."  He  adds,  that  these  powers  could  not  be  attributed  to  the 
intellect,  "for  these  individuals  not  only  could  not  read  books 
which  treated  of  the  principles  of  mechanics,  but  Us  etaient  derou- 
tes  loTsqxCon  en  parlait  et  ne  se  perfectionnaient  jamais."  It 
must  be  observed  also,  that  these  unfortunate  individuals  differ  very 
much  in  the  kind  as  well  as  quantity  of  mental  power  possessed. 
For  example,  an  instance  is  given  by  Pinel  of  an  idiot  girl  who 
manifested  a  most  wonderful  propensity  to  irnitate  whatever  sne 
heard  or  saw,  but  who  displayed  no  other  intellectual  faculty  in  a 
perceptible  degree,  and  never  attached  an  idea  to  the  sound  she 
uttered.  Dr.  Rush  particularizes  one  man  who  was  remarkable 
for  his  religious  feelings,  although  exceedingly  deficient  in  intel- 
lectual power,  and  other  moral  sentiments;  and,  among  the  cretins, 
many  are  to  be  found  who  scarcely  manifest  any  other  faculty  of 
the  mind  except  that  of  Amativeness.  One  is  all  kindness  and 
good  nature,  another  quarrelsome  and  mischievous.  One  has  a 
lively  perception  of  harmony  in  music,  while  another  has  none. 

It  ought  also  to  be  observed,  that  the  characteristic  features 
of  each  particular  case  are  strictly  permanent.  The  idiot,  who  to- 
day manifests  the  faculty  of  Tune,  the  feeling  of  Benevolence,  of 
Veneration,  or  of  Self-esteem,  will  not  to-morrow,  nor  in  a  year, 
change  the  nature  of  his  predominant  manifestations.  Were  the 
deficiency  of  the  single  organ  the  cause  of  idiocy,  these  phenom- 
ena ought  not  to  appear ;  for  the  general  organ  being  able  to  mani- 
fest one  faculty,  ought,  according  to  the  circumstances  in  which 
the  individual  is  placed,  to  be  equally  able  to  manifest  all  others, 
whose  activity  may  be  required,  and  thus  the  character  of  the  idi- 
ocy ought  to  change  with  every  passing  event,  which  it  never  does. 
Fodere  calls  these  "  inexphcable  singularities,"  and,  no  doubt,  on 
his  theory  they  truly  are  so.  To  the  Phrenologist,  however,  they 
offer  no  difficulty,  for  they  are  in  perfect  harmony  with  his  views. 
The  difference  in  the  kind  of  powers  manifested  in  cases  of  partial 
idiocy,  between  the  capacity  for  mechanics,  for  insiance,  and  the 
sentiment  of  Veneration,  Self-esteem,  or  Benevolence,  is  as  great 
as  between  the  sensations  excited  by  the  perception  of  a  sound,  a 
taste,  or  a  smell      To  infer,  therefore,  that  one  organ  serves  for 


PLURALITY  OF  FACULTIES  AND  ORGANS.         17 

the  manifestation  of  all  these  faculties,  is  really  much  the  same  in 
point  of  logic  as  if  we  were  to  suppose  all  the  external  senses  to 
communicate  with  the  mind  through  the  medium  of  only  one  nerve, 
in  spite  of  the  facts  of  many  individuals  being  blind  who  are  not 
deaf,  or  deaf  and  still  able  to  see  and  smell. 

Partial  insanity,  or  that  state  in  which  one  or  more  facuhies  of 
the  mind  are  diseased,  without  affecting  the  integrity  of  the  remain- 
der, is  known  by  the  name  of  Monomania,  and  appears  equally 
whh  the  former  to  exclude  the  possibility  of  one  organ  executing 
the  functions  of  all  the  mental  facuhies  ;  for  the  argument  constantly 
recurs,  that  if  the  organ  be  sufficiently  sound  to  manifest  one  facul- 
ty in  its  perfect  state,  it  ought  to  be  equally  capable  of  manifesting 
all, — which,  however,  is  known  to  be  in  direct  opposition  to  fact. 
On  this  subject,  I  shall  confine  myself  to  the  statement  of  a  very 
few  instances,  merely  in  illustration. 

Of  folie  raisonnante  Pinel  thus  speaks  : — "  Hospitals  for  the 
insane  are  never  without  some  example  of  mania  marked  by  acts 
of  extravagance,  or  even  of  fury,  with  a  kind  of  judgment  preserv- 
ed in  all  its  integrity,  if  we  judge  of  it  by  the  conversation  ;  the 
lunatic  gives  the  most  just  and  precise  answers  to  the  questions  of 
the  curious ;  no  incoherence  of  ideas  is  discernible  ;  he  reads  and 
writes  letters  as  if  his  understanding  were  perfectly  sound ;  and  yet, 
by  a  singular  contrast,  he  tears  in  pieces  his  clothes  and  bedcovers, 
and  always  finds  some  plausible  reason  to  justify  his  wandering  and 
his  fury.  This  sort  of  mania  is  so  far  from  rare,  that  the  vulgar 
name  oi  folie  raisonnante  has  been  given  to  it." — P.  93.  An- 
other equally  interesting  case  from  the  same  author  may  be  cited. 
"It  is  difficult  to  conceive,"  says  he,  "the  nature  of  one  species 
of  alienation  of  mind.  It  consists,  as  it  were,  of  a  combination 
of  reason  and  extravagance,  of  discernment  and  actual  delirium, 
which  appear  so  inconsistent  as  reciprocally  to  exclude  each 
other."  "  One  lunatic,"  he  continues,  "  whose  malady  is  of  seven 
years'  standing,  is  perfectly  aware  of  his  state,  and  forms  as  sound 
a  judgment  of  it  as  if  it  were  a  thing  which  did  not  immediately 
concern  himself.  He  tries  to  make  efforts  to  free  himself  from  it ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  convinced  that  it  is  incurable.     If 


18         PLURALITY  OF  FACULTIES  AND  ORGANS. 

any  one  remarks  the  incoherence  in  his  ideas  in  his  talking,  he 
readily  acknowledges  it,  but  answers,  that  this  inchnation  overpow- 
ers him  so  much,  that  he  cannot  but  submit.  He  adds,  that  he 
does  not  guarantee  the  soundness  of  the  judgments  which  he  forms, 
but  that  it  is  not  in  his  power  to  rectify  them.  He  believes,  for 
example,  that  if  he  wiped  his  nose,  that  organ  would  remain  in  his 
handkerchief ;  that  if  he  shaved  himself,  he  must  of  necessity  cut 
his  throat,  and  that,  at  the  first  attempt  to  walk,  his  legs  would 
break  like  glass.  He  sometimes  subjects  himself  to  rigorous 
abstinence  for  several  days,  under  the  impression,  that  if  he  took 
aliments,  they  would  suffocate  him.  What  are  we  to  think  of  an 
aberration  of  intellect  so  regular  and  so  singular  ?" — P.  94. 

It  would  be  easy  for  me  to  multiply  such  instances  as  these  of 
the  partial  affection  of  the  mental  faculties,  but  it  is  needless  to 
occupy  time  with  more,  and  the  above  are  amply  sufficient  to  show 
the  nature  and  bearing  of  such  cases.  Here  again  the  difficulty 
recurs  of  reconciling  such  facts  with  the  idea  of  one  organ  execut- 
ing all  the  functions  of  the  mind.  How  comes  that  organ  to  be 
able  to  manifest  one,  but  not  all  the  faculties  ? 

6thly,  Besides  the  phenomena  of  idiocy  and  insanity,  there  is 
also  another  class  of  facts  (to  which,  however,  I  shall  only  allude) 
equally  at  variance  with  the  supposition  of  a  single  organ  of  mind, 
viz.  partial  injuries  of  the  brain,  which  are  said  to  have  occurred 
without  injury  to  the  mental  faculties.  I  merely  observe,  that  if 
every  part  of  the  brain  is  concerned  in  every  mental  act,  it  appears 
strange  that  all  the  processes  of  thought  should  be  manifested  with 
eqvMl  success,  when  a  great  part  of  the  brain  is  injured  or  destroy- 
ed, as  when  its  whole  structure  is  sound  and  entire.  If  the  fact 
were  really  as  here  stated,  the  brain  would  form  an  exception  to 
the  general  laws  of  organic  structure  ;  for  although  a  part  of  the 
lungs  may  be  sufficient  to  maintain  respiration,  or  a  part  of  the 
stomach  to  execute  digestion,  in  such  a  way  as  to  support  life, 
there  is  no  instance  in  which  these  functions  have  been  as  ruccess- 
fully  performed  by  impaired  organs  as  they  would  have  been  by 
lungs  and  a  stomach  in  their  natural  state  of  health  and  activity. 
The  Phrenologists  are  reduced  to  no  such  strait  to  reconcile  the 


PLURALITY  OF  FACULTIES  AND  ORGANS.         19 

occurrence  of  such  cases  with  their  system  ;  for  as  soon  as  the 
principle  of  a  plurality  of  organs  is  acknowledged,  they  admit  of 
an  easy  and  satisfactory  explanation. 

From  the  preceding  considerations,  then,  it  appeal's  that  any 
theory,  founded  upon  the  notion  of  a  single  organ,  is  uniformly  at 
variance  with  all  that  is  ascertained  to  be  fact  in  the  philosophy  of 
mind  :  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  the  principle  of  a  plurality  of 
organs,  while  it  satisfactorily  explains  most  of  these  facts,  is  consis- 
tent with  all  of  them.  Its  truth  is  thus  almost  demonstrated,  not 
by  far-fetched  or  pretended  facts,  which  few  can  verify,  but  by  facts 
which  daily  "obtrude  themselves  upon  the  notice  of  the  senses." 
This  principle,  indeed,  bears  on  the  face  of  it  so  much  greater  a 
degree  of  probability  than  the  opposite  one,  as  to  have  long  since 
forced  itself  on  the  minds  of  many  inquirers.  Fodere  himself  a 
very  zealous  opponent  of  Phrenology,  after  recapitulating  a  great 
many  reasons  similar  to  those  already  mentioned,  which  had  been 
employed  by  philosophers  antecedent  to  Drs.  Gall  and  Spurzheim, 
for  believing  in  a  plurality  of  mental  organs,  is  constrained  to 
admit,  that  "this  kind  of  reasoning  has  been  employed  by  the 
greater  number  of  anatomists,  who,  from  the  time  of  Galen,  down 
to  those  of  our  own  day,  and  even  by  the  great  Haller,  who  expe- 
rienced a  necessity  for  assigning  a  function  to  each  department  of 
the  brain.  Pinel  also  (in  the  article  Manie  in  the  Encyclopedic 
Methodique)  after  relating  some  cases  of  partial  insanity,  asks, 
whether  all  this  collection  of  facts  can  be  reconciled  with  the 
opinion  of  a  single  faculty  and  a  single  organ  of  the  understand- 
ing?" Farther,  the  Edinburgh  Reviewer,  also  already  referred 
to,  commends  Mr.  Charles  Bell  for  "attacking  the  common 
opinion,  that  a  separate  sensation  and  volition  are  conveyed  by  the 
same  nerves,  and  for  asserting  '  the  different  functions  of  different 
parts  of  the  cerebrum  and  cerebellum. '  " 

These  considerations  early  impressed  reflecting  men  with  the 
conviction,  that  particular  mental  powers  must  be  connected  with 
particular  parts  of  the  brain  ;  and  accordingly,  before  the  eighteenth 
century,  when  modern  metaphysics  sprung  up,  we  find  traces 
of  this  opinion  common,  not  only  among  eminent  anatomists  and 


20 


PLURALITY  OF  FACULTIES  AND  ORGANS. 


physiologists,  but  among  authors  on  human  nature  in  general. 
Burton,  in  his  Anatomy  of  Melancholy,  says,  "  Inner  senses  are 
three  in  number,  so  called,  because  they  be  within  the  brain-pan, 
as  common  sense,  phantasie,  and  memory  :"  of  common  sense, 
"the  fore  part  of  the  brain  is  his  organ  or  seat ;"  of  phantasie  or 
imagination,  which  some  call  aestimative  or  cogitative,  his  "  organ 
is  the  middle  cell  of  the  brain  ;"  and  of  memory,  "  his  seat  and 
organ,  the  back  part  of  the  brain."  This  was  the  account  of  the 
faculties  given  by  Aristotle,  and  repeated,  with  httle  variation,  by 
the  writers  of  the  middle  ages.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  a  head 
divided  into  regions,  according  to  these  opinions,  was  designed  by 
Albert  the  Great,  bishop  of  Ratisbon  ;  and  another  was  published 
by  Petrus  Montagnana,  in  1491.  One  published  at  Venice,  in 
1562,  by  Ludovico  Dolci,  a  Venetian,  in  a  work  upon  strength- 
ening and  preserving  the  memory,  is  here  represented  : — 


REFERENCES  TO  FIGURE. 

1  Fantasia. 

2  Cogitativa. 

3  Vermis. 

4  Sensus  Communis. 

5  Imagina. 

6  ^stimativa. 

7  Memorativa. 

8  Olfactus. 

9  Gustus. 


In  the  British  Museum  is  a  chart  of  the  universe  and  the 
elements  of  all  sciences,  in  which  a  large  head  so  delineated  is 
conspicuous.     It  was  published  at  Rome  so  late  as  1632.* 

If,  then,  the  majority  of  anatomists,  for  the  last  two  thousand 
years,  and  such  illustrious  physiologists  as  Haller,  and  the  others 
above  referred  to,  were  led  to  the  beUef  of  a  plurality  of  mental 
organs,  by  a  perception  of  the  contradiction   and    inconsistency 


Elliotson's  Blumenbach,  p.  205. 


PLURALITY  OF  FACULTIES  AND  ORGANS.         21 

existing  between  the  phenomena,  and  the  supposition  of  the  whole 
brain  being  the  single  organ  of  mind,  I  cannot  be  far  wrong  in  say- 
ing, that  the  latter  notion,  so  far  from  being  self-evident,  appears 
so  improbable  as  to  require  even  stronger  facts  to  prove  it  than 
the  opposite  view  ;  and  that  the  presumptions  are  all  in  favor  of  a 
plurality  of  mental  faculties,  manifesting  themselves  by  means  of  a 
plurality  of  organs. 

I  have  now  endeavored  to  show,  first,  That  the  ridicule  and 
abuse  with  which  Phrenology  was  treated  at  its  first  announce- 
ment, and  its  continued  rejection  by  men  of  established  reputation, 
whose  opinions  it  contradicts,  afford  no  presumption  that  it  is 
untrue,  for  all  great  discoveries  have  met  with  a  similar  fate  : 
Secondly,  That  we  are  really  unacquainted  with  the  mind,  as  an 
entity  distinct  from  the  body,  and  that  it  is  owing  to  the  mind  not 
being  conscious  of  its  organs,  that  metaphysicians  have  supposed 
their  feelings  and  intellectual  perceptions  to  be  emanations  of  pure 
mind,  whereas  they  are  the  results  of  mind  and  its  organs  acting  in 
combination.  Thirdly,  That  the  greatest  anatomists  and  physiolo- 
gists admit  the  brain  to  be  the  organ  of  the  mind,  and  common 
feeling  localizes  the  mind  in  the  head,  although  it  does  not  inform 
us  what  substance  occupies  the  interior  of  the  skull :  Farther,  That 
the  very  idea  of  the  mind  having  an  organ,  implies  that  every 
mental  act  is  accompanied  with  an  affection  of  the  organ,  and  vice 
versa;  so  that  the  true  philosophy  of  the  mind  cannot  be  discovered 
without  taking  the  influence  of  the  organs  into  account  at  every 
step.  Fourthly,  That  the  analogy  of  the  nerves  of  feeling  and 
motion,  of  the  five  senses,  and  other  parts  of  the  body,  all  of 
which  perform  distinct  functions  by  separate  organs  ;  also  the  suc- 
cessive appearance  of  the  faculties  in  youth  ;  the  phenomena  of 
partial  genius,  of  dreaming,  of  partial  insanity,  of  monomania,  and 
of  partial  injuries  of  the  brain,  furnish  presumptive  evidence  that 
the  mind  manifests  a  variety  of  faculties  by  means  of  a  variety  of 
organs,  and  exclude  the  supposition  of  a  single  power  operating  by 
a  single  organ.  The  next  inquiry,  therefore,  naturally  is,  What 
effect  does  the  condition  of  the  organs  produce  on  the  states  of  the 


22  INFLUENCE  OF  SIZE 

mind  ?   Is  it  indifferent  whether  the  organs  be  large  or  small,  well 
or  ill  constituted,  in  health  or  in  disease  ? 

I  submit  the  following  facts  to  prove  that  in  other  departments 
of  organized  nature,  size  in  an  organ,  other  conditions  being  equal, 
is  a  measure  of  power  in  its  function,  i.  e.  that  small  size  indicates 
weak  power,  and  large  size  strong  power,  all  other  circumstances 
being  alike.* 

In  our  infancy,  we  have  been  delighted  with  the  fable  of  the  old 
man  who  showed  his  sons  a  bundle  of  rods,  and  pointed  out  to 
them  how  easy  it  was  to  snap  asunder  one,  and  how  difficult  to 
break  the  whole.  The  principle  involved  in  this  simple  storv 
pervades  all  material  substances  ;  for  example,  a  muscle  is  com- 
posed of  a  number  of  fleshy  fibres,  and  hence  it  follows  that  each 
muscle  will  be  strong  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  fibres  which 
enter  into  its  composition.  If  nerves  be  composed  of  parts,  a 
nerve  which  is  composed  of  twenty  parts  must  be  more  vigorous 
than  one  which  is  constituted  of  only  one.  To  render  this  princi- 
ple universally  true,  however,  one  condition  must  be  observed, 
namely,  that  in  comparing  parts  with  each  other,  or  with  the  whole, 
all  shall  be  of  the  same  quality;  for  example,  if  the  old  man  in  the 
fable  had  presented  ten  twigs  of  wood  tied  up  in  a  bundle,  and 
desired  his  sons  to  observe  how  much  more  difficult  it  was  to 
break  ten  than  to  sever  one  ;  and  if  his  sons,  in  refutation  of  this 
assertion,  had  presented  him  with  a  rod  of  iron  of  the  same  thick- 
ness as  one  twig,  and  said  that  it  was  as  difficult  to  break  that  iron 
rod,  although  single,  as  his  whole  bundle  of  twigs,  although  tenfold, 
the  answer  would  have  been  obvious,  that  the  things  compared 
differed  in  kind  and  quality  ;  and  that  if  he  took  ten  iron  rods,  and 
tried  to  break  them,  the  difficulty  would  be  as  great  compared  with 
that  of  severing  one,  as  to  break  ten  twigs  of  wood  compared  with 
that  of  breaking  one.     In  like  manner,  nerves,  muscles,  brain,  and 

*  This  subject  is  fully  treated  of  by  Dr.  Andrew  Combe  in  an  Essay  on  the  In- 
fluence of  Organic  Size  on  Energy  of  Function,  particularly  as  applied  to  the 
Organs  of  the  external  Senses  and  Brain,  in  the  Phrenological  Journal,  vol. 
iv  p.  161. 


ON  THE  POWER  OF  ORGANS.  23 

all  other  parts  of  the  body,  may  be  sound,  or  they  may  be  diseas- 
ed ;  they  may  be  of  a  fine  structure  or  a  coarse  structure  ;  they 
may  be  old  or  young  ;  they  may  be  almost  ^dissolved  with  the 
burning  heat  of  a  tropical  sun,  or  nearly  frozen  under  the  influence 
of  an  arctic  winter  ;  and  it  would  be  altogether  irrational  to  expect 
that  the  influence  of  size  was  to  stand  forth  as  a  fixed  energy  to 
overrule  all  these  circumstances,  and  to  produce  effects  constantly 
equal.  The  strength  of  iron  itself  and  adamantine  rock  depends 
on  temperature,  for  either  will  melt  with  a  certain  degree  of  heat, 
and  at  a  still  higher  point  they  will  be  dissipated  into  vapor.  The 
true  principle  then,  is,  that  constitution,  health,  and  outward  cir- 
cumstances being  the  same,  a  large  muscle,  or  large  nerve,  com- 
posed of  numerous  fibres,  will  act  with  more  force  than  a  small 
one  comprehending  few. 

Let  us,  however,  trace  the  influence  of  this  law  in  animated 
beings.  It  will  scarcely  be  disputed,  that  the  strength  of  the 
bones  is  always,  other  circumstances  being  equal,  proportioned  to 
their  size.  So  certain  is  this,  that  when  nature  requires  to  give 
strength  to  a  bone  in  a  bird,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  avoid 
increasing  the  weight  of  the  animal,  the  bone  is  made  of  large 
diameter,  but  hollow  in  the  middle ;  and,  on  mechanical  principles, 
the  increase  of  volume  adds  to  its  strength.  That  the  law  of  size 
holds  in  regard  to  the  bloodvessels  and  heart,  is  self-evident  to 
every  one  who  knows  that  a  tube  of  three  inches  diameter  will 
transmit  more  water  than  a  tube  of  only  one  inch.  And  the  same 
may  be  said  in  regard  to  the  lungs,  liver,  kidneys,  and  every  other 
part.  If  a  liver,  suppose  of  four  square  inches,  can  secrete  four 
ounces  of  bile,  it  is  perfectly  manifest,  that  one  of  eight  square 
inches  will  be  able,  all  other  things  being  equal,  to  secrete  a  quan- 
tity greater  in  proportion  to  its  greater  size.  If  this  law  did  not 
hold  true,  What  would  be  the  advantage  of  large  and  capacious, 
over  small  and  confined  lungs  .''     There  could  be  none. 

Speaking,  generally,  there  are  two  classes  of  nerves  distributed 
over  the  body,  those  of  motion  and  those  of  sensation  or  feeling. 
In  motion,  the  muscle  is  the  essential  or  chief  apparatus,  and  the 
nerve  is  required  only  to  communicate  to  it  the  impulse  of  the 


24  INFLUENCE  OF  SIZE 

will ;  but  in  sensation  the  reverse  is  the  case, — the  nerve  itself  is 
the  chief  instrument,  and  the  part  on  which  it  is  ramified  is  merely 
a  medium  for  putting  it  in  relation  with  the  specific  quaUties  which 
it  is  destined  to  recognise. 

To  show  the  effect  of  size  in  regard  to  these  nerves,  the  follow- 
ing cases  may  be  mentioned,  and  they  are  stated  on  the  authority 
of  Desmoulins,  a  celebrated  French  physiologist,  when  no  other 
authority  is  given.  The  horse  and  ox  have  much  greater  muscular 
power,  and  much  less  intensity  of  sensation  in  their  limbs  than 
man  ;  and,  in  conformity  with  the  principle  now  under  discussion, 
the  nerves  of  motion  going  to  the  four  limbs  in  the  horse  and  ox 
are  at  least  one-third  more  numerous  than  the  nerves  of  sensation 
going  to  the  same  parts  ;  whereas  in  man  the  nerves  of  motion 
going  to  the  legs  and  arms  are  a  fifth  or  a  sixth  part  less  than  the 
nerves  of  sensation  distributed  on  the  same  parts.  In  like  manner, 
in  birds  and  reptiles  which  have  scaly  skins  and  limited  touch,  but 
vigorous  powers  of  motion,  the  nerves  of  sensation  are  few  and 
small,  and  the  nerves  of  motion  numerous  and  large.  Farther, 
wherever  nature  has  given  a  higher  degree  of  sensation  or  touch  to 
any  particular  part  than  to  the  other  parts  of  an  animal,  there  the 
nerve  of  sensation  is  invariably  increased  ;  for  example,  the  single 
nerve  of  feeling  ramified  on  the  tactile  extremity  of  the  proboscis 
of  the  elephant  exceeds  in  size  the  united  volume  of  all  the  muscu- 
lar nerves  of  that  organ.  Some  species  of  monkeys  possess  great 
sensibility  in  the  tail,  and  some  species  of  bats  possess  great  sensi- 
bility in  their  wings,  and  in  these  parts  the  nerves  of  sensation 
are  increased  in  size  in  proportion  to  the  increased  function. 
Birds  require  to  rise  in  the  air,  which  is  a  medium  much  lighter 
than  their  own  bodies.  To  have  enlarged  the  size  of  their  muscles 
would  have  added  to  their  weight,  and  increased  their  difficulty  in 
rising.  Nature,  to  avoid  this  disadvantage,  has  bestowed  on  them 
large  nerves  of  motion  which  infuse  a  very  powerful  stimulus  into 
the  muscles,  and  increase  their  power  of  motion.  Fishes  live  in 
water  which  is  almost  in  equihbrium  with  their  bodies.  To  them 
Nature  has  given  large  muscles,  in  order  to  increase  their  locomo- 
tive powers,  and  in  them  the  nerves  of  motion  are  less.     In  these 


ON  THE  POWER  OF  ORGANS.  25 

instances,  nature  curiously  adds  to  the  power  of  motion,  by  increas 
ing  the  size  of  that  part  of  the  locomotive  apparatus  which  may 
be  enlarged  most  conveniently  for  the  animal ;  but  either  the  muscle 
or  the  nerve  must  be  enlarged,  otherwise  there  is  no  increase  of 
power. 

In  regard  to  the  external  senses,  it  is  proper  to  observe  that 
every  external  sense  is  composed,  first.  Of  an  instrument  or 
medium  on  which  the  impression  is  made  ;  the  eye  for  example  ; 
and,  secondly,  A  nerve  to  conduct  that  impression  to  the  mind  or 
brain.  The  same  law  of  size  holds  as  to  them  ;  a  large  eye  will 
collect  more  rays  of  light ;  a  large  ear  more  vibrations  of  sound  ; 
and  large  nostrils  more  odorous  particles  than  small  ones.  This  is 
so  obvious,  that  it  scarcely  requires  proof;  yet,  as  Mr.  Jeffrey  has 
ridiculed  the  idea,  I  may  mention  that  Monro,  Blumenbach, 
Soemmering,  Cuvier,  Magendie,  Georget,  and  a  whole  host  of 
physiologists,  support  it.  Blumenbach,  when  treating  of  smell, 
says,  "  While  animals  of  the  most  acute  smell  have  the  nasal 
organs  most  extensively  evolved,  precisely  the  same  holds  in 
regard  to  some  barbarous  nations.  For  instance,  in  the  head  of  a 
North  American  Indian  (represented  in  one  of  his  plates),  the 
internal  nostrils  are  of  an  extraordinary  size,"  &c.  And  again, 
"  The  nearest  to  this  in  point  of  magnitude,  are  the  internal  nos- 
trils of  the  Ethiopians,  from  among  whom  I  have  seen  heads  very 
different  from  each  other,  but  each  possessing  a  nasal  organ  much 
larger  than  that  described  by  Soemmering.  These  anatomical 
observations  accord  with  the  accounts  given  by  the  most  respecta- 
ble travellers,  concerning  the  wonderful  acuteness  of  smell  pos- 
sessed by  these  savages." 

In  like  manner.  Dr.  Monro  primus^  no  mean  authority,  in 
treating,  in  his  Comparative  Anatomy,  of  the  large  organ  of  smell 
in  the  aog,  says,  "The  sensibility  (of  smell)  seems  to  be  increased 
in  proportion  to  the  surface  ;  and  this  will  also  be  found  to  take 
place  in  all  the  other  senses."  The  same  author  states,  "that  the 
external  ear  in  different  quadrupeds  is  differently  framed,  but 
always  calculated  to  the  creature's  manner  of  life ;  thus  hares  and 
such  other  animals  as  are  daily  exposed  to  insults  ^rom  beasts  of 
4 


26  INFLUENCE  OF  SIZE 

prey,  have  large  ears  directed  backwards,  their  eyes  warning  them 
of  danger  before." 

These  observations  apply  to  the  external  portion  of  the  organs 
of  sense.  The  inner  parts  or  nerves  are  likewise  subject  to  the 
same  law  of  size.  Georget,  a  late  physiological  writer,  in  treating 
of  the  nerves,  says,  "  The  volume  of  these  organs  bears  a  uniform 
relation,  in  all  the  different  animals,  to  the  extent  and  force  of  the 
sensations  and  movements  over  which  they  preside.  Thus,  the 
nerve  of  smell  in  the  dog  is  larger  than  the  five  nerves  of  the  exter- 
nal senses  in  man."  The  nerve  of  smell  is  small  in  man  and  in 
the  monkey  tribe  ;  scarcely,  if  at  all,  perceptible  in  the  dolphin  ; 
large  in  the  dog  and  the  horse,  and  altogether  enormous  in  the 
whale  and  the  skate,  in  which  it  actually  exceeds  in  diameter  the 
spinal  marrow  itself.  In  the  mole  it  is  of  extraordinary  size,  while 
the  optic  nerve  is  very  small.  In  the  eagle  the  reverse  is  observ- 
ed, the  optic  nerve  being  very  large,  and  the  olfactory  small. 
Most  of  the  quadrupeds  excel  man  in  the  acuteness  of  their  hear- 
ing, and  accordingly  it  is  a  fact  that  the  auditory  nerve  in  the 
sheep,  the  cow,  the  horse,  &c.,  greatly  exceeds  the  size  of  the 
same  nerve  in  man.  In  some  birds  of  prey,  which  are  known  to 
possess  great  sensibility  of  taste,  the  palate  is  found  to  be  very 
copiously  supplied  with  nervous  filaments. 

But  the  organ  of  sight  affords  a  most  interesting  example  of  the 
influence  of  size.  The  office  of  the  eye-ball  is  to  collect  the  rays 
of  light.  A  large  eye,  therefore,  will  take  in  more  rays  of  light, 
or,  in  other  words,  command  a  greater  sphere  of  vision,  than  a 
small  one.  But  to  give  intensity  or  power  to  vision,  the  optic 
nerve  is  also  necessary.  Now,  the  ox  placed  upon  the  surface  of 
the  earth  is  of  a  heavy  structure  and  ill  fitted  for  motion,  but  he 
has  a  large  eye-ball  which  enables  him  to  take  in  a  large  field  of 
vision  without  turning ;  but  as  he  does  not  require  very  keen  vision 
to  see  his  provender  on  which  he  almost  treads,  the  optic  nerve  is 
not  large  in  proportion  to  the  eyeball.  The  eagle,  on  the  other 
hand,  by  ascending  to  a  great  height  in  the  air,  enjoys  a  wide  field 
of  vision  from  its  mere  physical  position.  It  looks  down  from  a 
point  over  an  extensive  surface.     It  has  no  need,  therefore,  of  8 


ON  THE  POWER  OF  ORGANS.  27 

large  eyeball  to  increase  artificially  its  field  of  vision  ;  and,  accord' 
ingly,  the  ball  of  its  eye  is  comparatively  small,  but  it  requires, 
from  that  height,  to  discern  its  prey  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
and  not  only  is  the  distance  great,  but  its  prey  often  resembles  in 
color  the  ground  on  which  it  rests.  Great  intensity  of  vision, 
therefore,  is  necessary  to  its  existence.  Accordingly,  in  it  the 
optic  nerve  is  increased  to  an  enormous  extent.  Instead  of  form- 
ing a  single  membrane  lining  only  the  inner  surface  of  the  posterior 
chamber  of  the  eye,  as  in  man  and  animals  of  ordinary  vision,  and 
consequently  only  equalling  in  extent  the  sphere  of  the  eye  to 
which  it  belongs,  the  retina  or  nerve  of  vision  in  these  quick-sight- 
ed birds  of  prey  is  found  to  be  composed  of  a  great  number  of 
folds,  each  hanging  loose  into  the  eye,  and  augmenting,  in  an 
extraordinary  degree,  not  only  the  extent  of  nervous  surface,  but 
the  mass  of  nervous  matter,  and  giving  rise  to  that  intensity  of 
vision  which  distinguishes  the  eagle,  falcon,  hawk,  and  similar 
animals.  In  the  case  of  all  the  senses,  then,  the  law  holds,  that 
power  of  function  is  in  proportion  to  size  of  the  organ,  other  cir- 
cumstances being  equal. 

Let  us  now  attend  to  the  brain.  Were  I  to  affirm  that  differ- 
ence of  size  in  the  brain  would  produce  no  effect  on  the  vigor  of  its 
functions, — or  that  a  small  brain  in  perfect  health,  and  of  a  sound 
constitution,  is  equal  in  functional  power  and  efficiency  to  a  large 
one  in  similar  condition,  Would  the  reader,  after  the  evidence 
which  has  been  laid  before  him  of  the  influence  of  size  in  increasing 
the  power  of  function  in  all  other  parts  of  the  body,  be  disposed  to 
credit  the  assertion  ?  He  would  have  the  utmost  difficulty  in  "be- 
lieving it,  and  would  say  that  if  such  were  the  fact,  the  brain  must 
form  an  exception  to  a  law  which  appears  general  over  organized 
nature  ;  and  yet  the  phrenologists  have  been  assailed  with  every 
species  of  vituperation,  for  maintaining  that  the  brain  does  not 
form  an  exception  to  this  general  law,  but  that  in  it  also  vigor  of 
function  is  in  proportion  to  size,  other  conditions  being  equal.  I 
shall  proceed  to  show  some  evidence  in  proof  of  this  fact ;  but  the 
reader  is  requested  to  observe  that  I  am  here  expounding  only 
general  principles  in  an  introductory  discourse.     The  conditions 


28  INFLUENCE  OF  SIZE 

and  modifications  under  which  these  principles  fall  to  be  applied  in 
practice,  will  be  stated  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

First,  The  brain  of  a  child  is  small,  and  its  mental  vigor  weak, 
compared  with  the  brain  and  mental  vigor  of  an  adult.*  Second^, 
Small  size  in  the  brain  is  an  invariable  cause  of  idiocy.  Phrenolo- 
gists have  in  vain  called  upon  their  opponents  to  produce  a  single 
instance  of  the  mind  being  manifested  vigorously  by  a  very  small 
brain.  Deficiency  of  size,  however,  in  the  brain  is  not  the  only 
cause  of  idiocy.  A  brain  maybe  large  and  diseased,  and  mental 
imbecility  arise  from  the  disease  ;  but,  although  disease  be  absent, 
if  the  size  be  very  deficient,  idiocy  will  be  invariable.  Thirdly, 
Men  who  have  been  remarkable,  not  for  mere  cleverness,  but  for 
great  force  of  character,  such  as  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  have  had 
large  heads.  Fourthly,  It  is  an  ascertained  fact,  that  nations  in 
whom  the  brain  is  large,  possess  so  great  a  mental  superiority  over 
those  in  whom  that  organ  is  small,  that  they  conquer  and  oppress 
them  at  pleasure.  The  Hindoo  brain,  for  example,  is  considera- 
bly smaller  than  the  European,  and  it  is  well  known  that  a  few 
thousands  of  Europeans  have  subdued  and  keep  in  subjection 
millions  of  Hindoos.  The  Native  American  brain  is  smaller  also 
than  the  European,  and  the  same  result  has  been  exemplified  in 
that  country.  Lastly,  The  influence  of  size  is  now  admitted  by 
the  most  eminent  physiologists.  Magendie  says,  "the  volume  of 
the  brain  is  generally  in  direct  proportion  to  the  capacity  of  the 
mind.  We  ought  not  to  suppose,  however,  that  every  man  having 
a  large  head  is  necessarily  a  person  of  superior  intelligence,  for 
there  are  many  cases  of  an  augmentation  of  the  volume  of  the  head 
beside  the  size  of  the  brain,  but  it  is  rarely  found  that  a  man  dis- 
tinguished by  his  mental  faculties  has  not  a  large  head.  The  only 
way  of  estimating  the  volume  of  the  brain,  in  a  living  person,  is  to 

*  It  is  certified  by  practical  hatters,  that  the  lower  classes  of  the  community, 
who  are  distinguished  for  muscular  vigor  much  more  than  mental  capacity,  re- 
quire a  smaller  size  of  hat  than  those  classes  whose  occupations  are  chiefly  men 
tal,  and  in  whom  vigor  of  mind  surpasses  that  of  body.  But  the  Phrenologist 
does  not  compare  mental  power  in  general  with  size  of  brain  in  general;  and, 
besides,  the  hat  does  not  indicate  the  size  of  the  whole  head.  The  reader  will 
find  details  on  this  point  in  the  4th  volume  of  the  Phrenological  Journal. 


ON  THE  POWER,  OF  ORGANS.  29 

measure  the  dimensions  of  the  skull ;  every  other  means,  even  that 
proposed  by  Camper,  is  uncertain." — (Compendium  of  Physiolo- 
gy, p.  104.  edition  1S26).  The  following  passage  which  occurs 
in  the  94th  Number  of  the  Edinburgh  Heview,  also  implies  not 
only  that  different  parts  of  the  nervous  system,  including  the  brain, 
have  different  functions,  but  that  an  increase  of  volume  in  the  brain 
is  marked  by  some  addition  to,  or  amplification  of,  the  powers  of 
the  animal.  "It  is  in  the  nervous  system  alone  that  we  can  trace 
a  gradual  progress  in  the  provision  for  the  subordination  of  one 
(animal)  to  another,  and  of  all  to  man  ;  and  are  enabled  to  associ- 
ate every  faculty  which  gives  superiority  with  some  addition  to  the 
nervous  mass,  even  from  the  smallest  indications  of  sensation  and 
will,  up  to  the  highest  degree  of  sensibility,  judgment,  and  expres- 
sion. The  brain  is  observed  progressively  to  be  improved  in  its 
structure,  and,  with  reference  to  the  spinal  marrow  and  nerves, 
augmented  in  volume  more  and  more,  until  we  reach  the  human 
brain,  each  addition  being  marked  by  some  addition  to,  or  ampli- 
fication of,  the  powers  of  the  animal, — until  in  man  we  behold  it 
possessing  some  parts  of  which  animals  are  destitute,  and  wanting 
none  which  theirs  possess."  There  is  here,  then,  pretty  strong 
evidence  and  authority  for  the  assertion,  that  the  brain  does  not 
form  an  exception  to  the  general  law  of  organized  nature,  that 
other  conditions  being  equal,  size  of  organ  is  a  measure  of  power 
of  function. 

The  circumstances  which  modify  the  effects  of  size  fall  next  lo 
be  considered.     These  are  constitution  and  health. 

The  question  naturally  presents  itself.  Do  we  possess  any  index 
to  constitutional  qualities  of  brain?  The  temperaments  indicate 
them  to  a  certain  extent.  There  are  four  temperaments,  accom- 
panied with  different  degrees  of  activity  in  the  brain — the  Lympha- 
tic, the  Sanguine,  the  Bilious,  and  the  Nervous.  The  tempera- 
ments are  supposed  to  depend  upon  the  constitution  of  particular 
systems  of  the  body  ;  the  brain  and  nerves  being  predominantly 
active  from  constitutional  causes,  produce   the  nervous  tempera- 


30  TEMPERAMENT  AND  DISEASE 

raent;  the  lungs,  heart,  and  blood-vessels  being  constitutionally 
predominant,  give  rise  to  the  sanguine;  the  muscular  and  fibrous 
systems,  to  the  bilious ;  and  the  glands  and  assimilating  organs,  to 
the  lymphatic. 

The  different  temperaments  are  indicated  by  external  signs, 
which  are  open  to  observation.  The  first,  or  Lymphatic,  is  dis- 
tinguishable by  a  round  form  of  the  body,  softness  of  the  muscular 
system,  repletion  of  the  cellular  tissue,  fair  hair,  and  a  pale  clear 
skin.  It  is  accompanied  by  languid  vital  actions,  with  weakness, 
and  slowness  in  the  circulation.  The  brain,  as  part  of  the  system, 
is  also  slow,  languid,  and  feeble  in  its  action,  and  the  mental  mani- 
festations are  proportionally  weak. 

The  second,  or  sanguine  constitution,  is  indicated  by  well  defin- 
ed forms,  moderate  plumpness  of  person,  tolerable  firmness  of 
flesh,  light  hair,  inclining  to  chestnut,  blue  eyes,  and  fair  complex- 
ion, with  ruddiness  of  countenance.  It  is  marked  by  great  activ- 
ity of  the  blood-vessels,  fondness  for  exercise,  and  an  animated 
countenance.  The  brain  partakes  of  the  general  state,  and  is 
active. 

The  Bihous  temperament  is  recognised  by  black  hair,  dark 
skin,  moderate  fulness,  and  much  firmness  of  flesh,  with  harshly 
expressed  outline  of  the  person.  The  functions  partake  of  great 
energy  of  action,  which  extends  to  the  brain,  and  the  counte- 
nance, in  consequence,  shows  strong,  marked,  and  decided  fea- 
tures. 

The  Nervous  temperament  is  recognised  by  fine  thin  hair,  thin 
skin,  small  thin  muscles,  quickness  in  muscular  motion,  paleness 
of  countenance,  and  often  delicate  health.  The  whole  nervous 
system,  including  the  brain,  is  predominantly  active,  and  the  men- 
tal manifestations  are  proportionally  vivacious.* 

It  it  thus  clearly  admitted,  that  constitution  or  quality  of  brain 

*  The  American  reader  will  find  a  very  elegant  and  instructive  account  of 
the  temperaments,  by  that  distinguished  Phrenologist  Dr.  Charles  Caldwell,  of 
Lexington,  in  a  volume  published  there  in  1831,  unde'-  the  title  of  "  Essays  on 
Malaria  and  Teraperainent." 


MODIFY  THE  EFFECTS  OF  SIZE.  31 

has  a  great  influence  on  the  mental  effects  of  size ;  but  let  us  at- 
tend to  the  consequences.  As  a  general  rule,  all  the  parts  of  the 
same  brain  have  the  same  constitution,  and  if  size  be  a  measure  of 
power,  then  in  each  head  the  large  organs  will  be  more  powerful 
than  the  small  ones.  This  enables  us  to  judge  of  the  strong  and 
the  weak  points  in  each  head.  But  if  we  compare  two  separate 
brains,  then  we  must  recollect  that  the  size  of  the  two  may  be 
equal ;  and,  nevertheless,  the  one  from  possessing  the  finest  tex- 
ture, and  most  vigorous  constitution,  may  be  exceedingly  active, 
while  another,  from  being  inferior  in  quality,  may  be  naturally 
inert.  The  consequence  will  be,  that  the  best  constituted  brain 
will  manifest  the  mind  with  most  vigor.  That  size  is  nevertheless 
the  measure  of  power,  may  be  proved  by  contrasting  the  manifes- 
tations of  a  small  and  of  a  large  brain,  possessing  the  same  combi- 
nation of  organs,  and  equally  well  constituted  ;  the  power  or  energy 
will  then  be  found  greatest  in  the  latter.  This  is  what  is  meant  by 
other  natural  conditions  being  equal.  As  the  temperaments  are 
distinguishable  by  the  countenance,  and  the  general  make  of  the 
body,  and  as  the  brain  partakes  of  the  general  constitution,  we 
possess  an  index  to  its  natural  qualities.  I  repeat  that  these  re- 
marks apply  only  to  the  case  of  comparing  one  brain  with  another. 
The  same  brain  has  in  general  the  same  constitution,  and  on  the 
principle  that  size  is  a  measure  of  power,  the  largest  organs  in  each 
individual  will  be  naturally  the  most  vigorous.  If  the  temperament 
be  lymphatic,  all  the  organs  will  act  slowly,  but  the  largest  will  be 
most  powerful  and  most  active,  on  account  of  their  superior  size. 
If  the  temperament  be  active,  all  will  be  active,  but  the  largest  will 
still  take  the  lead.  It  is  on  this  account  that  a  student  of  Phrenol- 
ogy in  search  of  evidence,  should  not  compare  the  same  organ  in 
different  brains. 

Further,  the  brain  must  possess  a  healthy  constitution,  and  that 
degree  of  activity  which  is  the  usual  accompaniment  of  health. 
Now,  the  brain,  like  other  parts  of  the  body,  may  be  affected  with 
certain  diseases  which  do  not  diminish  or  increase  its  magnitude, 
and  yet  impair  its  functions.  The  Phrenologist  ascertains  the 
health  by  inquiry.     In  cases  of  disease,  great  size  may  be  present, 


32  TEMPERAMENT  AND  DISEASE. 

and  very  imperfect  manifestations  appear  ;  or  it  may  be  attacked 
with  other  diseases,  such  as  inflammation,  or  any  of  those  particu- 
lar affections  whose  nature  is  unknown,  but  to  which  the  name  of 
Mania  is  given  in  nosology,  and  which  greatly  exalt  its  action  ;  and 
then  very  forcible  manifestations  may  proceed  from  a  brain  com- 
paratively small ;  but  it  is  no  less  true,  that  when  a  larger  brain  is 
excited  to  the  same  degree  by  the  same  causes,  the  manifestations 
become  increased  in  energy,  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  size. 
These  cases,  therefore,  form  no  valid  objection  to  Phrenology  ; 
for  the  phrenologist  ascertains,  by  previous  inquiry,  that  the  brain 
is  in  a  state  of  health.  If  it  is  not,  he  makes  the  necessary  hmit- 
ations  in  drawing  his  conclusions. 

Let  us  turn  our  attention  to  the  point  of  the  argument  at  which 
we  are  now  arrived.  We  have  seen  that  the  brain  is  the  organ  of 
the  mind, — that  it  is  not  a  single  organ,  but  that  the  analogy  of  all 
the  other  organs,  the  successive  developement  of  the  faculties, — the 
phenomena  of  partial  genius, — partial  insanity, — monomania, — 
dreaming, — and  partial  injuries  of  the  brain,  indicate  that  it  is  a 
congeries  of  organs  manifesting  a  plurality  of  faculties  ;  we  have 
seen  also,  that,  in  the  case  of  the  bones,  muscles,  nerves  of  motion, 
nerves  of  sensation,  and  nerves  of  the  five  senses,  size  has  an  influ- 
ence on  vigor  of  functions  ;  and  from  the  analogy  of  these  organs, 
and  also  from  direct  facts  and  physiological  authorities,  we  have 
come  to  the  same  conclusion  regarding  the  brain,  that  vigor  of 
function  bears  a  relation,  other  circumstances  being  equal,  to  size 
in  the  organ.  From  these  premises,  it  follows  as  a  necessary  con- 
clusion, that,  in  the  manifestation  of  the  mental  faculties,  it  will 
not  be  indifferent  in  what  direction  the  brain  is  most  or  least 
developed  ;  for  example,  if  different  parts  of  the  brain  possess 
different  functions,  and  if  the  strength  of  function  be  in  proportion 
to  the  size  of  the  part,  the  vigor  of  the  faculties  connected  with  a 
brain  in  which  the  frontal  region  predominates  in  size,  must  neces- 
sarily be  different  from  that  which  would  proceed  frcm  a  brain  in 
which  the  predominance  of  size  was  in  the  posterior  portion  ;  and 
a  difference  would  hold  also  in  cases  of  preponderance  in  the 
superior  or  inferior  portions. 


CONNEXION  OF  PARTICULAR  33 

Raphael.  New  Hollander. 


^^^J 


Here  we  have  a  representation  of  the  skull  of  Raphael,  and  of 
the  skull  of  a  native  of  New  Holland  ;  both  taken  from  casts  in  the 
collection  of  the  Phrenological  Society.  The  difference  in  the 
forehead  is  very  conspicuous.  If  the  part  of  the  brain  lying  in  that 
region  have  any  function  connected  with  intellect,  and  if  size  be  a 
measure  of  power,  the  two  beings  should  form  a  strong  contrast  of 
power  and  weakness  in  that  department.  And,  accordingly,  the 
case  is  so.  Raphael  died  at  thirty-three  years  of  age,  and  has  left 
an  imperishable  memory  on  account  of  his  genius  in  art.  Sir 
Walter  Scott  describes  the  other  as  follows  : — "  The  natives  of 
New  Holland  are,  even  at  present,  in  the  very  lowest  scale  of  hu- 
manity, and  ignorant  of  every  art  which  can  add  comfort  or  decen- 
cy to  human  life.  These  unfortunate  savages  use  no  clothes, 
construct  no  cabins  or  huts,  and  are  ignorant  even  of  the  manner 
of  chasing  animals,  or  catching  fish,  unless  such  of  the  latter  as  are 
left  by  the  tide,  or  which  are  found  on  the  rocks  ;  they  feed  upon 
the  most  disgusting  substances,  snakes,  worms,  maggots,  and  what- 
ever trash  falls  in  their  way.  They  know,  indeed,  how  to  kindle 
a  fire  ;  in  that  respect  only  they  have  stepped  beyond  the  deepest 
ignorance  to  which  man  can  be  subjected  ;  but  they  have  hot 
learned  how  to  boil  water  ;  and  when  they  see  Europeans  perform 
this  ordinary  operation,  they  have  been  known  to  run  away  in  great 
terror." 

We  have  now  arrived,  by  a  fair  and  legitimate  induction,  at 
strong  presumptive  proof  in  favor  of  the  grand  principles  of 
Phrenology,  viz.  that  the  brain  is  the  organ  of  the  mind,  that  differ- 
ent parts  of  it  are  connected  with  different  faculties,  and  that  the 
size  of  the  organ,  other  conditions  being  equal,  exerts  an  influence 
on  the  power  of  manifestation.  Here,  then,  the  inquiry  presents 
5 


34  FACULTIES  AND  ORGANS. 

itself.  What  faculties  and  what  parts  of  the  brain  are  mutually  con- 
nected ?  This  is  the  grand  question  remaining  to  be  solved,  in 
order  to  render  our  knowledge  of  the  functions  of  the  brain  and  the 
organs  of  the  mind  precise  and  practically  useful.  Let  us  inquire 
what  progress  the  metaphysician  and  anatomist  have  made  in 
elucidating  this  point.  It  is  of  importance  to  take  a  view  of  the 
past  efforts  of  philosophers  in  the  science  of  mind  on  this  subject, 
that  we  may  be  able  correctly  to  appreciate  both  what  remains  to 
be  accomplished,  and  how  far  Phrenology  presents  means  capable 
of  attaining  it. 

The  mind  has  been  studied,  by  one  set  of  philosophers,  with  too 
little  reference  to  the  body  ;  and  the  laws  of  thought  have  been 
expounded  with  as  much  neglect  of  organization  as  if  we  had 
already  "  shuffled  off  this  mortal  coil."  From  this  erroneous 
practice  of  many  distinguished  authors,  such  as  Locke,  Hume, 
Reid,  Stewart  and  Brown,  a  prejudice  has  arisen  against  the  physi- 
ology of  man,  as  if  the  mind  were  degraded  by  contemplatrng  it  in 
connexion  with  matter ;  but  man  is  the  work  of  the  Creator  of  the 
world,  and  no  part  of  his  constitution  can  be  unworthy  of  regard 
and  admiration.  The  whole  phenomena  of  life  are  the  result  of 
mind  and  body  joined,  each  modifying  each;  and  how  can  we  ex- 
plain a  result,  without  attending  to  all  the  causes  which  combine 
towards  its  production  ?  <> 

Another  set  of  philosophers,  in  avoiding  Scylla,  have  thought  it 
necessary  to  dash  into  Charybdis,  and  have  taught,  that  the  mind 
is  nought  but  a  combination  of  matter  ;  and  have  endeavored  to 
explain  its  functions  by  supposed  mechanical  motions  in  its  parts  ; 
but,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  this  course  of  proceeding  is  equally 
erroneous  as  the  other. 

Li  surveying  the  phenomena  of  mind,  we  are  struck  with  the 
variety  of  faculties  with  which  it  appears  to  be  endowed.  Philo- 
sophers and  the  vulgar  equally  admit  it  to  be  possesse'd  of  different 
powers.  Thus  it  is  by  one  faculty  that  it  reasons  ;  by  another 
that  it  imagines,  and,  by  a  third,  that  it  discriminates  between 
right  and  wrong. 


EFFORTS  OF  METAPHYSICIANS.  35 

If,  however,  we  inquire  what  progress  has  hitherto  been  made 
Dy  metaphysicians  in  ascertaining  the  primitive  mental  powers,  and 
rendering  the  philosophy  of  man  interesting  and  practically  useful 
to  persons  of  ordinary  understanding,  we  shall  find  a  lamentable 
deficiency  indeed.  From  the  days  of  Aristotle  to  the  present 
time,  the  most  powerful  intellects  have  been  directed,  with  the 
most  persevering  industry,  to  this  department  of  science,  —  and 
system  after  system  has  flourished,  fallen,  and  been  forgotten,  in 
rapid  and  melancholy  succession.  To  confine  our  attention  to 
modern  times,  Dr.  Reid  overturned  the  philosophy  of  Locke  and 
Hume  ;  Mr.  Stewart,  while  he  illustrated  Reid,  yet  differed  from 
him  in  many  important  particulars  ;  and,  recently,  Dr.  Thomas 
Brown  has  attacked,  with  powerful  eloquence  and  philosophical 
profundity,  the  fabric  of  Stewart,  and  it  already  totters  to  its  fall. 
The  very  existence  of  even  the  most  common  and  familiar  facul- 
ties of  the  mind  is  still  in  debate  among  these  philosophers.  Mr. 
Stewart  maintains  Attention  to  be  a  faculty,  which  these  other 
philosophers  deny.  They,  again,  state  Imagination  to  be  a  pri- 
mitive power  of  the  mind,  while  Mr.  Stewart  informs  us,  that 
"  what  we  call  the  power  of  Imagination,  is  not  the  gift  of  nature, 
but  the  result  of  acquired  habits,  aided  by  favorable  circumstances. " 
[Elements,  Chap.  7.  §  1.)  Common  observation  informs  us, 
that  a  taste  for  music,  and  a  genius  for  poetry  and  painting,  are 
gifts  of  nature,  bestowed  only  on  a  few  ;  but  Mr.  Stewart,  by  dint 
of  his  philosophy,  has  discovered  that  these  powers,  and  also  a 
genius  for  mathematics,  "  are  gradually  formed  by  particular  habits 
of  study,  or  of  business."  (Outlines,  p.  16.)  On  the  other 
hand,  he  treats  of  Perception,  Conception,  and  Memory,  as  origi- 
nal powers  ;  while  Dr.  Thomas  Brown  denies  them  to  be  entitled 
to  that  appellation.  Reid,  Stewart,  and  Brown,  admit  the  exist- 
ence of  moral  emotions  ;  but  Hobbes,  Mandeville,  Dr.  Paley, 
and  many  others,  resolve  the  sentiment  of  Right  and  Wrong  into  a 
regard  to  our  own  good,  into  perceptions  of  utility,  obedience  to 
the  laws,  or  to  the  Divine  command.  Thus,  after  the  lapse  and 
labor  of  more  than  two  thousand  years,  philosophers  are  not  yet 
agreed  concerning  the  existence  of  many  of  the  most  important 


36  EFFORTS  OF  METAPHYSICIANS. 

principles  of  action,  and  intellectual  powers  of  man.  While  the 
philosophy  of  mind  shall  remain  in  this  uncertain  condition,  it  will 
be  impossible  to  give  to  morals  and  natural  religion  a  scientific 
foundation  ;  and  until  these  shall  assume  the  stableness  and  preci- 
sion of  sciences,  education,  political  economy  and  legislation,  must 
continue  empirical  in  their  principles  and  application.  If,  there- 
fore. Phrenology  could  introduce  into  the  philosophy  of  mind  even 
a  portion  of  the  certainty  and  precision  which  attend  physical 
investigations,  it  would  confer  no  small  benefit  on  this  interesting 
department  of  science  ;  and  that  it  is  fully  competent  to  do  so,  shall 
be  shown  after  we  have  attended  to  a  few  preliminary  points 
requiring  consideration. 

In  the  next  place,  supposing  the  number  and  nature  of  the  prim- 
itive faculties  to  be  ascertained,  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that,  in  actual 
life,  they  are  successively  developed.  The  infant  feels  fear,  love, 
attachment,  before  it  is  alive  to  the  sublime  or  the  beautiful ;  and  it 
observes  occurrences  long  before  it  reasons.  A  correct  theory  of 
mind  ought  to  unfold  principles  to  which  these  facts  also  may  be 
referred. 

Farther,  even  after  the  full  maturity  of  age  is  attained,  how  dif- 
ferent the  degrees  in  which  we  are  endowed  with  the  various  men- 
tal powers.  Admitting  each  individual  to  possess  all  the  faculties, 
the  assemblage  of  which  constitutes  the  human  mind,  in  what  a 
variety  of  degrees  of  relative  strength  do  they  appear  in  different 
persons  ?  In  one,  the  love  of  glory  is  the  feeling  which  surpasses 
all ;  another  is  deaf  to  the  voice  of  censure,  and  callous  to  the 
accents  of  applause.  The  soul  of  one  melts  with  softest  pity  at 
a  tale  of  wo  ;  while  the  eye  of  another  never  shed  a  sympathetic 
tear.  One  individual  spends  his  life  in  an  ardent  chase  of  wealth, 
which  he  stops  not  to  enjoy ;  another  scatters  in  wasteful  prodigal- 
ity the  substance  of  his  sires,  and  perishes  for  want  from  a  mere 
mcapacity  to  retain.  One  vast  intellect,  like  Newton's,  fathoms 
the  profundities  of  science  ;  while  another  feeble  mind  scarce- 
ly gropes  its  way  through  the  daily  occurrences  of  life.  The 
towering  imagination  of  a  Shakspeare,  or  a  Milton,  soars  be- 
yond the  boundaries  of  sublunary  space  ;  while  the  sterile  fancy 


EFFORTS  OF  METAPHYSICIANS.  37 

of  another  sees  no  glory  in  the  heavens,  and  no  loveliness  on 
earth. 

A  system  of  mental  philosophy,  therefore,  pretending  to  the  truth 
of  nature,  ought  not  only  to  unfold  the  simple  elements  of  thought 
and  of  feeling,  but  to  enable  us  to  discover  in  what  proportions 
they  are  combined  in  different  individuals.  In  chemical  science, 
one  combination  of  elementary  ingredients  produces  a  medicine 
of  sovereign  virtue  in  removing  pain  ;  another  combination  of  the 
same  materials,  but  differing  in  their  relative  proportions,  brings 
forth  a  mortal  poison.  In  human  nature,  also,  one  combination 
of  faculties  may  produce  the  midnight  murderer  and  thief;  and 
another,  a  Franklin,  a  Howard,  or  a  Fry,  glowing  with  charity  to 
man. 

If,  however,  we  inquire  at  the  philosophers  on  the  mind,  for 
rules  by  which  to  discriminate  the  effects  upon  the  character  and 
conduct  of  individuals,  produced  by  different  combinations  of  the 
mental  powers,  what  information  do  we  receive  ?  Instead  of  light 
upon  this  interesting  subject,  we  find  in  their  works  only  disputes, 
whether  such  differences  exist  in  nature,  or  are  the  result  of  edu- 
cation and  other  adventitious  circumstances  ;  many  maintaining 
the  one  opinion,  while  some  iew  advocate  the  other.  This  de- 
partment of  the  philosophy  of  man,  in  short,  is  a  perfect  waste. 
Mr.  Stewart  is  aware  equally  of  its  importance  and  forlorn  condi- 
tion. The  varieties  of  intellectual  character  among  men,  says  he, 
present  another  very  interesting  object  of  study,  which,  "  consid- 
ering its  practical  utility,  has  not  yet  excited,  so  much  as  might 
have  been  expected,  the  curiosity  of  our  countrymen."  (Dissert. 
Part  ii.  p.  198).  The  reason  appears  sufficiently  obvious.  The 
common  modes  of  studying  man  afforded  no  clew  to  the  discovery 
desired. 

In  thus  surveying  the  philosophy  of  man,  as  at  present  exhibited 
to  us  in  the  writings  of  philosophers,  we  perceive,  first,  That  no  ac- 
count is  given  of  the  influence  of  the  material  organs  on  the  manifest- 
ations of  the  mental  powers ;  that  the  progress  of  the  mind  from 
youth  to  age,  and  the  phenomena  of  sleep,  dreaming,  idiocy  and  in- 
sanity, are  left  unexplained  or  unaccounted  for,  by  any  principles 


38  EFFORTS  OF  MORALISTS. 

admitted  in  their  system  :  Secondly,  That  the  existence  and  functions 
of  some  of  the  most  important  primitive  facuhies  are  still  in  dispute  ; 
and,  thirdly,  That  no  light  whatever  has  been  thrown  on  the  nature 
and  effects  of  combinations  of  the  primitive  powers,  in  different  de- 
grees of  relative  proportion.  It  is  with  great  truth,  therefore,  that 
Monsieur  De  Bonald,  quoted  by  Mr.  Stewart,  observes,  that  "di- 
versity of  doctrine  has  increased  from  age  to  age,  with  the  number 
of  masters,  and  with  the  progress  of  knowledge  ;  and  Europe,  which 
at  present  possesses  libraries  filled  with  philosophical  works,  and 
which  reckons  up  almost  as  many  philosophers  as  writers  ;  poor  in 
the  midst  of  so  much  riches,  and  uncertain  with  the  aid  of  all  its 
guides,  which  road  it  should  follow  ;  Europe,  the  centre  and  focus 
of  all  the  lights  of  the  world,  has  yet  its  philosophy  only  in  expect- 
ation." 

While  philosophers  have  been  thus  unsuccessfully  engaged  in 
the  study  of  mental  science,  human  nature  has  been  investigated  by 
another  set  of  observers, — Morahsts,  Poets  and  Divines.  These 
have  looked  upon  the  page  of  life  merely  to  observe  the  characters 
there  exhibited,  with  the  view  of  tracing  them  anew  in  their  com- 
positions :  and  certainly  they  have  executed  their  design  with  great 
felicity  and  truth.  In  the  pages  of  Shakspeare,  Addison,  Johnson, 
Tillotson  and  Blair,  we  have  the  lineaments  of  mind  traced  with  a 
perfect  tact,  and  exhibited  with  matchless  beauty  and  effect :  But 
these  authors  had  no  systematic  object  in  view,  and  did  not  aim  at 
founding  their  observations  on  principles  vi^hich  might  render  them 
subservient  to  the  practical  purposes  of  hfe.  Hence,  although  in 
their  compositions  we  find  ample  and  admirable  materials  for  the 
elucidation  of  a  true  system  of  the  philosophy  of  man,  yet,  without 
other  aids  than  they  supply,  we  cannot  arrive  at  fundamental  prin- 
ciples sufficient  to  guide  us  in  our  intercourse  with  the  world.  The 
charge  against  their  representations  of  human  nature  is,  not  that  they 
are  incorrect,  but  that  they  are  too  general  to  be  useful.  They 
draw  striking  pictures  of  good  men  and  of  bad  men,  but  do  not  en- 
able us  to  discover,  prior  to  experience,  whether  any  particular  in- 
dividual with  whom  we  may  wish  to  connect  our  fortunes,  belongs 
to  the  one  class  or  the  other,  a  matter  of  the  first  importance,  be- 


EFFORTS  OF  POETS.  39 

cause,  in  the  course  of  gaining  experience,  we  encounter  the  risk 
of  suffering  the  greatest  calamities.  In  short,  Poets  and  Novelists 
describe  men  as  they  do  the  weather  ;  in  their  pages  they  make  the 
storm  to  rage  with  terrific  energy,  or  the  sun  to  shine  with  the  soft- 
est radiance,  but  do  not  enable  us  to  discover  whether,  to-morrow, 
the  elements  will  war,  or  the  zephyrs  play;  and  without  this  power, 
we  cannot  put  to  sea  with  the  certainty  of  favoring  gales,  nor  stay 
in  port  without  the  risk  of  losing  winds  that  would  have  wafted  us 
to  the  wished-for  shore.  Phrenology,  therefore,  if  a  true  system 
of  human  nature,  ought  not  only  to  furnish  to  the  popular  reader  the 
key  of  philosophy,  to  unlock  the  stores  of  intellectual  wealth  con- 
tained in  the  volumes  of  our  most  gifted  authors,  but  also  to  render 
their  representations  of  human  character  practically  useful,  by  en- 
abling him  to  discover  the  natural  qualities  of  living  individuals  prior 
to  experience  of  their  conduct,  and  thus  to  appreciate  their  tenden- 
cies before  becoming  the  victim  of  their  incapacity  or  passions. 

The  causes  of  the  failure  of  the  metaphysician  are  easily  recog- 
nised. He  studied  the  mind  chiefly  by  reflecting  on  his  own  con- 
sciousness ;  he  turned  his  attention  inwards,  observed  the  phenom- 
ena of  his  own  faculties,  and  recorded  these  as  metaphysical  science. 
But  the  mind  is  not  conscious  of  organs  at  all ;  we  are  not  informed 
by  feeling  of  the  existence  of  muscles,  of  nerves  of  motion,  nerves 
of  taste,  nerves  of  smell,  of  an  auditory  apparatus,  of  optic  nerves, 
or  of  any  mental  organs  whatever.  All  that  consciousness  reveals 
is,  that  the  mind  inhabits  the  head  ;  but  it  does  not  inform  us  what 
material  substances  the  head  contains  ;  and  hence  it  was  impossible 
for  the  metaphysician  to  discover  the  organs  of  the  mind  by  his 
method  of  philosophising,  and  no  metaphj^'sical  philosopher  pretends 
to  have  discovered  them.  The  imperfection  of  this  mode  of  inves- 
tigation accounts  for  the  contradictory  results  obtained  by  different 
metaphysicians.  Suppose  an  individual  possessed  of  a  brain  like  a 
New  Hollander,  to  turn  philosopher  ;  he  would  never,  by  reflecting 
on  his  own  consciousness,  find  an  instinctive  faculty  for  art ;  and, 
therefore,  he  would  exclude  it  from  his  system.  Another  philoso- 
pher, constituted  like  Raphael,  on  the  other  hand,  would  feel  it 
strongly,  and  give  it  a  prominent  place. 


40  LABORS  OF  PHYSIOLOGISTS. 

When  we  turn  our  attention  to  the  works  of  Physiologists,  we 
discover  the  most  ceaseless,  but  fruitless,  endeavors  to  ascertain  and 
determine  the  parts  of  the  body,  with  which  the  several  mental 
powers  are  most  closely  connected.  Some  of  them  have  dissected 
the  brain,  in  the  hope  of  discovering  in  its  texture  an  indication  of 
the  functions  which  it  performs  in  relation  to  the  mind  ;  but  success 
has  not  hitherto  crowned  their  efforts.  When  we  examine,  with 
the  most  scrupulous  minuteness,  the  form,  color,  and  texture  of 
the  brain,  no  sentiment  can  be  perceived  slumbering  in  its  fibres, 
nor  half-formed  ideas  starting  from  its  folds.  It  appears  to  the  eye 
only  as  a  mass  of  curiously  convoluted  matter  ;  and  the  understand- 
ing declares  its  incapacity  to  penetrate  the  purposes  of  its  parts. 

In  short,  we  cannot,  by  merely  dissecting  any  organ  of  the  body, 
discover  its  functions.  For  example,  anatomists,  for  many  cen- 
turies, dissected  the  nerves  of  motion  and  feeling,  and  saw  nothing 
in  their  structure  that  indicated  the  difference  of  their  functions  ; 
and,  at  this  moment,  if  the  nerves  of  taste  and  of  hearing  were  pre- 
sented together  on  the  table,  we  might  look  at  them  for  ages  with- 
out discovering  any  traces  of  their  functions  from  their  structure 
alone.  Simple  dissection  of  the  brain,  therefore,  could  not  lead  to 
the  discovery  of  the  functions  of  its  different  parts. 

The  obstacles  which  have  hitherto  opposed  the  attainment  of 
this  information  have  been  many. 

Imagination  has  been  called  in  to  afford  information  which  phil- 
osophy withheld,  and  theories  have  been  invented  to  supply  the 
place  of  knowledge  founded  on  fact  and  legitimate  induction.  "  The 
greater  number  of  physiologists,  physicians  and  philosophers,"  says 
Dr.  Spurzheim,  "  derive  the  moral  sentiments  ^'01x1  various  viscera. 
or  from  the  nervous  plexus  and  ganglia  of  the  great  sympathetic 
nerve,  that  is,  from  the  nerves  of  the  abdomen  and  thorax  ;  but 
comparative  anatomy  and  physiology  entirely  contradict  this  opinion. 
There  are  animals  endowed  with  faculties  attributed  to  certain  bow- 
els or  viscera,  which  do  not  possess  these  viscera.  Insects,  for 
instance,  become  angry,  and  have  neither  liver  nor  bile.  Oxenj 
horses,  hogs,  &c.  have  many  viscera  in  structure  analogous  to  those 
of  man,  and  yet  they  want  many  faculties  which  are  attributed  to 


LABORS  OF  PHYSIOLOGISTS.  41 

these  viscera,  and  with  which  man  is  endowed."  The  heart  is 
supposed  to  be  the  seat  of  the  tender  affections  ;  but  the  heart  of 
the  tiger  and  of  the  lamb  are  alike  in  structure,  and  the  one  ought 
to  be  the  organ  of  cruelty,  and  the  other  of  meekness,  if  this  sup- 
position were  true.  [Jfew  Phys.  Syst.  p.  133).  Other  physiol- 
ogists have  compared  the  size  of  the  brain  of  man  with  that  of  the 
lower  animals  ;  contrasting  at  the  same  time  their  mental  powers  ; 
and  have  been  led  to  the  conclusion  that  it  iS  the  organ  of  the 
mind,  and  that  its  superior  developement  in  man  indicates  his  men- 
tal superiority  over  the  brutes  ;  but  these  philosophers  have  not 
succeeded  in  determining  the  functions  of  the  different  parts  of 
this  organ,  and  have  not  been  able,  in  any  important  degree,  to 
connect  their  discoveries  with  the  philosophy  of  mind.  Camper, 
in  order  to  measure  the  extent  of  the  brain,  and,  as  he  imagined, 
the  corresponding  energy  of  the  intellectual  faculties,  drew  a  verti- 
cal hne,  touching  the  upper  lip  and  the  most  prominent  part  of  the 
forehead ;  and  also  a  horizontal  hne,  crossing  the  former,  and 
touching  the  tips  of  the  upper  front  teeth,  and  the  external  opening 
of  the  ear,  or,  at  least,  corresponding  to  these  points  in  its  direc- 
tion ;  and  he  thought  that  man  and  animals  have  more  understanding, 
the  more  the  upper  and  inner  angle  formed  by  the  two  lines,  or 
that  including  the  upper  jaw,  nose,  &c.  is  obtuse  ;  and,  on  the 
contrary,  that  man  and  animals  are  more  stupid,  the  more  this  facial 
angle  is  acute.  But  tiiis  manner  of  measuring  the  intellectual 
faculties  is  not  more  correct  than  those  previously  mentioned. 
The  facial  angle  applies  only  to  the  anterior  parts  of  the  brain  situ- 
ated in  the  forehead,  and  is  inapplicable  to  all  the  lateral  and  pos- 
terior parts  ;  hence  it  could,  even  if  there  were  no  other  objection, 
indicate  only  those  faculties  whose  organs  constitute  the  forehead. 
Besides,  in  many  Negroes,  the  jaw-bones  are  extremely  prominent, 
and  the  facial  angle  acute  ;  while  their  foreheads  are  in  fact  largely 
developed,  and  their  intellectual  faculties  powerful,  although,  by 
Camper's  rule,  they  ought  to  be  inferior  to  many  stupid  Europeans, 
whose  foreheads  are  deficient,  but  whose  jaws  recede.  Hence,  the 
facial  angle  cannot  serve  as  a  means  of  measuring  the  moral  senti- 
ments and  intellectual  faculties.  (JVew)  Phys.  Syst.  p.  197, 198, 199.) 
6 


42  LABORS  OF  PHYSIOLOGISTS. 

"  Some  physiologists,  as  Soemmering  and  Cuvier,  have  com- 
pared the  size  of  the  brain  in  general  with  that  of  the  face  ;  and, 
according  to  them,  animals  are  more  stupid  as  the  face  is  larger  in 
proportion  to  the  brain."  But  that  this  rule  is  not  infallible,  is 
easily  proved,  because  Leo,  Montaigne,  Leibnitz,  Haller,  and 
Mirabeau,  had  large  faces  and  very  considerable  brains.  Bossuet, 
Voltaire,  and  Kant,  had,  on  the  contrary,  small  faces  and  also  large 
brains.      (JVeio  Phys.  Syst.  p.  200.) 

The  cerebral  parts  have  likewise  been  compared  with  each  other, 
in  order  to  ascertain  their  functions,  as,  the  brain  with  the  cerebel- 
lum, the  brain  with  the  medulla  oblongata,  with  the  nerves,  &c., 
but  these  modes  also  have  led  to  no  satisfactory  results.  The 
elder  writers,  such  as  Aristotle  and  his  followers,  who  assigned 
different  faculties  to  different  parts  of  the  brain,  proceeded  on  fan- 
cy, or  on  notions  of  supposed  suitableness  of  the  place  in  the  head 
to  the  nature  of  the  power ;  and  their  views  have  been  entirely 
abandoned  both  by  physiologists  and  metaphysicians.  In  short,  it 
is  well  known,  that  no  theory  of  the  functions  of  the  brain  is  yet 
admitted  and  taught  as  certain  science,  such  as  the  doctrine  of  the 
circulation  of  the  blood,  and  the  functions  of  the  muscles,  nerves, 
and  bones. 

Dr.  Roget,  an  opponent  of  Phrenology^  freely  confesses  that 
"  the  brain  is  still  as  incomprehensible  in  its  functions,  as  it  is  sub- 
tle and  complex  in  its  anatomy."  [Cranios  Sup.  to  Enc  Brit.); 
and  the  writer  in  the  94th  Number  of  the  Edinburgh  Review,  says, 
— "  Even  within  our  own  time,  although  many  great  anatomists 
had  devoted  themselves  almost  exclusively  to  describing  the  brain, 
this  organ  used  to  be  demonstrated  by  the  greater  number  of  teach- 
ers, in  a  manner  which,  however  invariable,  was  assuredly  not 
particularly  useful.  It  was  so  mechanically  cat  down  upon,  in- 
deed, as  to  constitute  a  sort  of  exhibition  connected  with  nothing. 
The  teacher  and  the  pupil  were  equally  dissatisfied  with  the  per- 
formance, and  the  former  probably  the  most ;  the  latter  soon  gave 
up  the  painful  attempt  to  draw  any  kind  of  deductions  from  what 
he  witnessed,  and  disposed  of  the  difficulty  as  he  best  could,  when 
he  had  to  render  an  account  of  what  he  had  seen.     Up  to  this  day, 


LABORS  OF  PHYSIOLOGISTS.  43 

our  niemoiy  is  pained  by  the  recollection  of  the  barbarous  names 
and  regular  sections  of  what  was  then  the  dullest  part  of  anatomical 
study  ;  which,  although  often  repeated,  left  no  trace  but  of  its  ob- 
scurity, or  its  absurdity.  Here  an  oval  space  of  a  white  color, 
and  there  a  line  of  gray  or  curve  of  red,  were  displayed  ;  here  a 
cineritious,  there  a  medullary  mass ;  here  a  portion  white  without 
and  gray  within  ;  there  a  portion  white  within  and  gray  without ; 
here  a  gland-pituitary  ;  there  a  gland  like  grains  of  sand  ;  here  a 
ventricle;  there  a  cul-de-sac;  with  endless  fibres,  and  hnes,  and 
globules,  and  simple  marks,  with  appellations  no  less  fanciful  than 
devoid  of  meaning." 

"The  anatomist  dissected,  and  toiled  on  in  this  unpromising 
territory,  and  entangled  himself  more  in  proportion  to  his  unwilling- 
ness to  be  defeated  ;  and  he  succeeded,  no  doubt,  in  making  out  a 
clear  display  of  all  these  comphcated  parts,  which  few,  however, 
could  remember,  and  fewer  still  could  comprehend.  Then  came 
the  physiologist  in  still  greater  perplexity,  and  drew  his  conclu- 
sions, and  assigned  offices  to  the  multiplied  portions  and  ramifica- 
tions of  nervous  substance,  by  arbitrary  conjecture  for  the  most 
part,  and  often  with  manifest  inconsistency.  Although  the  brain 
was  generally  allowed  to  be  the  organ  of  the  intellectual  faculties, 
it  was  supposed  to  give  out,  from  particular  portions  of  the  mass, 
but  quite  indifferently,  nerves  of  sensation,  general  and  specific, 
nerves  of  motion,  and  nerves  of  volition  ;  the  single,  double,  or 
multiplied  origin  of  nerves,  which  had  not  escaped  notice,  not  be- 
ing supposed  to  be  connected  with  these  separate  offices." 

"  Such,  so  vague,  so  obscure,  so  inexact,  so  unsatisfactory,  was 
the  kind  of  knowledge  communicated  to  the  student,  until  a  very 
recent  period  ;  and  the  impression  left  by  it  was  that  of  confused 
and  unintelligible  profusion  in  the  distribution  of  nerves,  of  intrica- 
cy without  meaning,  of  an  expenditure  of  resources  without  a  par- 
allel in  the  other  works  of  nature."     Pages  447,  448. 

Unless,  then,  Dr.  Gall  could  boast  of  some  other  method  of 
investigation  than  those  of  the  ordinary  physiologist  and  metaphysi- 
cian, he  could  offer  no  legitimate  pretensions  to  the  solution  of  the 
question.  What  parts  of  the  brain,  and  what  mental  faculties,  are 


44  HISTORY  OF  DR.  GALL'S  DISCOVERY. 

connected  ?  but  he,  by  great  good  fortune,  was  led  to  adopt  a 
different  and  superior  mode  of  inquiry  ;  and  this  leads  me  to  state 
shortly  a  few  particulars  of  the  history  of  the  science  which  is  now 
to  be  expounded. 

Dr.  Gall,  a  physician  of  Vienna,  afterwards  resident  in  Paris,* 
was  the  founder  of  the  system.  From  an  early  age  he  was  given 
to  observation,  and  was  struck  with  the  fact,  that  each  of  his  broth- 
ers and  sisters,  companions  in  play,  and  schoolfellows,  was  dis- 
tinguished from  other  mdividuals  by  some  peculiarity  of  talent  or 
disposition.  Some  of  his  schoolmates  were  characterized  by  the 
beauty  of  their  penmanship,  some  by  their  success  in  arithmetic, 
and  others  by  their  talent  for  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  natural  his- 
tory, or  languages.  The  compositions  of  one  were  remarkable 
for  elegance  ;  the  style  of  another  was  stiff  and  dry  ;  while  a  third 
connected  his  reasonings  in  the  closest  manner,  and  clothed  his 
argument  in  the  most  forcible  language.  Their  dispositions  were 
equally  different ;  and  this  diversity  appeared  also  to  determine  the 
direction  of  their  partialities  and  aversions.  Not  a  few  of  them 
manifested  a  capacity  for  employments  which  they  were  not  taught ; 
they  cut  figures  in  wood,  or  delineated  them  on  paper  ;  some 
devoted  their  leisure  to  painting,  or  the  culture  of  a  garden  ;  while 
their  comrades  abandoned  themselves  to  noisy  games,  or  traversed 
the  woods  to  gather  flowers,  seek  for  bird-nests,  or  catch  butter- 
flies. In  this  manner,  each  individual  presented  a  character  pecu- 
liar to  himself,  and  Dr.  Gall  never  observed,  that  the  individual, 
who  in  one  year  had  displayed  selfish  or  knavish  dispositions,  be- 
came in  the  next  a  good  and  faithful  friend. 

The  scholars  with  whom  Dr.  Gall  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
competing,  were  those  who  learned  by  heart  with  great  facility  ; 
and  such  individuals  frequently  gained  from  him  by  their  repeti- 
tions the  places  which  he  had  obtained  by  the  merit  of  his  original 
compositions. 

Some  years  afterwards,  having  changed  his  place  of  residence, 

*  Born  at  Tiefenbrun,  in  Suabia  on  9th  Marchj  1757,  died  at  Paris,  22d  Au- 
gust, 1828 


HISTORY  OF  DR.  GALL'S  DISCOVERY.  45 

he  still  met  individuals  endowed  with  an  equally  great  talent  of 
learning  to  repeat.  He  then  observed,  that  his  schoolfellows,  so 
gifted,  possessed  prominent  eyes,  and  recollected,  that  his  rivals  in 
the  first  school  had  been  distinguished  by  the  same  peculiarity. 
When  he  entered  the  University  he  directed  his  attention,  from 
the  first,  to  the  students  whose  eyes  were  of  this  description,  and 
found  that  they  all  excelled  in  getting  rapidly  by  heart,  and  giving 
correct  recitations,  although  many  of  them  were  by  no  means  dis- 
tinguished in  point  of  general  talent.  This  observation  was  recog- 
nised also  by  the  other  students  in  the  classes  ;  and  although  the 
connexion  betwixt  talent  and  external  sign  was  not  at  this  time 
established  upon  such  complete  evidence  as  is  requisite  for  a  phi- 
losophical conclusion,  Dr.  Gall  could  not  beheve  that  the  coinci- 
dence of  the  two  circumstances  was  entirely  accidental.  From 
this  period,  therefore,  he  suspected  that  they  stood  in  an  important 
relation  to  each  other.  After  much  reflection,  he  conceived,  that 
if  memory  for  words  was  indicated  by  an  external  sign,  the  same 
might  be  the  case  with  the  other  intellectual  powers  ;  and,  there- 
after, all  individuals  distinguished  by  any  remarkable  faculty  became 
the  objects  of  his  attention.  By  degrees,  he  conceived  himself 
to  have  found  external  characteristics,  which  indicated  a  decided 
disposition  for  Painting,  Music,  and  the  Mechanical  Arts.  He 
became  acquainted  also  with  some  individuals  remarkable  for  the 
determination  of  their  character,  and  he  observed  a  particular  part 
of  their  heads  to  be  very  largely  developed.  This  fact  first  sug- 
gested to  him  the  idea  of  looking  to  the  head  for  signs  of  the  Moral 
Sentiments.  But  in  making  these  observations,  he  never  conceiv- 
ed, for  a  moment,  that  the  skull  was  the  cause  of  the  different 
talents,  as  has  been  erroneously  represented ;  for,  from  the  first, 
he  referred  the  influence,  whatever  it  was,  to  the  Brain. 

In  following  out,  by  observations,  the  principle  which  accident 
had  thus  suggested,  he,  for  some  time,  encountered  difficulties  of 
the  greatest  magnitude.  Hitherto  he  had  been  altogether  ignorant 
of  the  opinions  of  Physiologists  touching  the  brain,  and  of  Meta- 
physicians respecting  the  mental  faculties.  He  had  simply  observ- 
ed nature.     When,  hoAvever,  he  began  to  enlarge  his  knowledge 


46  HISTORY  OF  DR.  GALL'S  DISCOVERY. 

of  books,  he  found  the  most  extraordinary  conflict  of  opinions 
every  where  prevailing,  and  this,  for  the  moment,  made  him  hesi- 
tate about  the  correctness  of  his  own  observations.  He  found 
that  the  moral  sentiments  had,  by  an  almost  general  consent,  been 
consigned  to  the  thoracic  and  abdominal  viscera:  and  that  while 
Pythagoras,  Plato,  Galen,  Haller,  and  some  other  Physiologists, 
placed  the  sentient  soul  or  intellectual  faculties  in  the  brain,  Aris- 
totle placed  it  in  the  heart,  Van  Helmont  in  the  stomach,  Des 
Cartes  and  his  followers  in  the  pineal  gland,  and  Drelincourt  and 
others  in  the  cerebellum. 

He  observed  also,  that  a  great  number  of  Philosophers  and 
Physiologists  asserted,  that  all  men  are  born  with  equal  mental 
faculties ;  and  that  the  differences  observable  among  them  are 
owing  either  to  education,  or  to  the  accidental  circumstances  in 
which  they  are  placed.  If  differences  were  accidental,  he  infer- 
red, that  there  could  be  no  natural  signs  of  predominating  faculties ; 
and  consequently  that  the  project  of  learning,  by  observation,  to 
distinguish  the  functions  of  the  different  portions  of  the  brain,  must 
be  hopeless.  This  difficulty  he  combated  by  the  reflection,  that 
his  brothers,  sisters,  and  schoolfellows,  had  all  received  very  nearly 
the  same  education,  but  that  he  had  still  observed  each  of  them 
unfolding  a  distinct  character,  over  which  circumstances  appeared 
to  exert  only  a  limited  control.  He  observed  also,  that  not  un- 
frequently  those  whose  education  had  been  conducted  with  the 
greatest  care,  and  on  whom  the  labors  of  teachers  had  been  most 
assiduously  bestowed,  remained  far  behind  their  companions  in 
attainments.  "Often,"  says  Dr.  Gall,  "we  were  accused  of 
want  of  will,  or  deficiency  in  zeal ;  but  many  of  us  could  not,  even 
with  the  most  ardent  desire,  followed  out  by  the  most  obstinate 
efibrts,  attain,  in  some  pursuits,  even  to  mediocrity  ;  while  in  some 
other  points,  some  of  us  surpassed  our  schoolfellows  without  an 
effort,  and  almost,  it  might  be  said,  without  perceiving  it  ourselves. 
But,  in  point  of  fact,  our  masters  did  not  appear  to  attach  much 
faith  to  the  system  which  taught  equality  of  mental  faculties  ;  for 
they  thought  themselves  entitled  to  exact  more  from  one  scholar, 
and  less  from  another.     They  spoke  frequently  of  natural  gifts,  or 


HISTORY  OF  DR.  GALL'S  DISCOVERY.  47 

of  the  gifts  of  God,  and  consoled  their  pupils  in  the  words  of  the 
Gospel,  by  assuring  them  that  each  would  be  required  to  render 
an  account,  only  in  proportion  to  the  gifts  which  he  had  re- 
ceived." * 

Being  convinced  by  these  facts,  that  there  is  a  natural  and  con- 
stitutional diversity  of  talents  and  dispositions,  he  encountered  in 
books  still  another  obstacle  to  his  success  in  determining  the  ex- 
ternal signs  of  the  mental  powers.  He  found  that,  instead  of 
faculties  for  languages,  drawing,  distinguishing  places,  music,  and 
mechanical  arts,  corresponding  to  the  different  talents  which  he 
had  observed  in  his  schoolfellows,  the  metaphysicians  spoke  only 
of  general  powers,  such  as  perception,  conception,  memory,  im- 
agination, and  judgment ;  and  when  he  endeavored  to  discover 
external  signs  in  the  head,  corresponding  to  these  general  faculties, 
or  to  determine  the  correctness  of  the  physiological  doctrines 
taught  by  the  authors  already  mentioned,  regarding  the  seat  of  the 
mind,  he  found  perplexities  without  end,  and  difficulties  insur- 
mountable. 

Dr.  Gall,  therefore,  abandoning  every  theory  and  preconceived 
opinion,  gave  himself  up  entirely  to  the'  observation  of  nature. 
Being  a  friend  to  Dr.  Nord,  Physician  to  a  Lunatic  Asylum  in 
Vienna,  he  had  opportunities,  of  which  he  availed  himself,  of 
making  observations  on  the  insane.  He  visited  prisons,  and  re- 
sorted to  schools  ;  he  was  introduced  to  the  courts  of  princes,  to 
colleges,  and  the  seats  of  justice  ;  and  wherever  he  heard  of  an 
individual  distinguished  in  any  particular  way,  either  by  remarkable 
endowment  or  deficiency,  he  observed  and  studied  the  develope- 
ment  of  his  head.  In  this  manner,  by  an  almost  imperceptible 
induction,  he  at  last  conceived  himself  warranted  in  believing,  that 
particular  mental  powers  are  indicated  by  particular  configurations 
of  the  head. 

Hitherto  he  had  resorted  only  to  physiognomical  indications, 
as  a  means  of  discovering  the  functions  of  the  brain.  On  reflec- 
tion, however,  he  was    convinced   that    Physiology   is  imperfect 

*  Preface  by  Dr.  Gall  to  the  "  Anatomie,  &c.  du  Cerveau,"  from  which  other 
facts  in  this  work  are  taken. 


48  HISTORY  OF  DR.  GALL'S  DISCOVERY. 

when  separated  from  Anatomy.  Having  observed  a  woman  of 
fifty-four  years  of  age,  who  had  been  afflicted  with  hydrocephalus 
from  her  youth,  and  who,  with  a  body  a  little  shrunk,  possessed  a 
mind  as  active  and  intelligent  as  that  of  other  individuals  of  her 
class,  Dr.  Gall  declared  his  conviction,  that  the  structure  of  the 
brain  must  be  different  from  what  was  generally  conceived, — a 
remark  which  Tulpius  also  had  made,  on  observing  a  hydrocepha- 
lic patient  who  manifested  the  mental  faculties.  He  therefore  felt 
the  necessity  of  making  anatomical  researches  into  the  structure  of 
the  brain. 

In  every  instance,  when  an  individual,  whose  head  he  had  ob- 
served while  alive,  happened  to  die,  he  used  every  means  to  be 
permitted  to  examine  the  brain,  and  frequently  did  so  ;  and  found, 
as  a  general  fact,  that,  on  removal  of  the  skull,  the  brain,  covered 
by  the  dura  mater,  presented  a  form  corresponding  to  that  which 
the  skull  had  exhibited  in  life. 

The  successive  steps  by  which  Dr.  Gall  proceeded  in  his  dis- 
coveries, are  particularly  deserving  of  attention.  He  did  not, 
as  many  have  imagined,  first  dissect  the  brain,  and  pretend,  by 
that  means,  to  discover  the  seats  of  the  mental  powers  ;  neither 
did  he,  as  others  have  conceived,  first  map  out  the  skull  into  va- 
rious compartments,  and  assign  a  faculty  to  each,  according  as  his 
imagination  led  him  to  conceive  the  place  appropriate  to  the  pow- 
er. On  the  contrary,  he  first  observed  a  concomitance  between 
particular  talents  and  dispositions,  and  particular  forms  of  the  head  ; 
he  next  ascertained,  by  removal  of  the  skull,  that  the  figure  and 
size  of  the  brain  are  indicated  by  these  external  forms  ;  and  it  was 
only  after  these  facts  had  been  determined,  that  the  brain  was 
minutely  dissected,  and  light  thrown  upon  its  structure. 

At  Vienna,  in  1796,  Dr.  Gall,  for  the  first  time,  delivered  lec- 
tures on  his  system. 

In  1800,  Dr.  J.  G.  Spurzheira  *  began  the  study  of  Phrenology 

under  him,  having  in  that  year  assisted,  for  the. first  !ime,  at  one 

of  his  lectures.     In  1804,  he  was  associated  with  him  in  his  labors  ; 

and,  since  that  period,  has  not  only  added  many  valuable  discov- 

*  Born  at  Longuich,  near  Treves,  on  the  Moselle,  31st  December,  1776. 


HISTORY  OF  DH.  GALL'S  DISCOVERY.  49 

eries  to  those  of  Dr.  Gall,  in  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the 
brain,  but  formed  the  truths  brought  to  light,  by  their  joint  observa- 
tions, into  a  beautiful  and  interesting  system  of  mental  philosophy. 
In  Britain  we  are  indebted  chiefly  to  his  personal  exertions  and 
printed  works  for  a  knowledge  of  the  science. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  inquiries,  Dr.  Gall  did  not,  and  could 
not,  foresee  the  result  to -which  they  would  lead,  or  the  relation 
which  each  successive  fact,  as  it  was  discovered,  would  bear  to 
the  whole  truths  which  time  and  experience  might  bring  into  view. 
He  perceived,  for  instance,  that  the  intensity  of  the  desire  for  pro- 
perty, bore  a  relation  to  the  size  of  one  part  of  the  brain  ;  he  an- 
nounced this  fact  by  itself,  and  called  the  part  the  organ  of  Theft, 
because  he  had  found  it  largest  in  thieves.  When  he  had  discov- 
ered that  the  propensity  to  destroy  was  in  connexion  with  another 
part  of  the  brain,  he  announced  this  fact  also  as  an  isolated  truth, 
and  named  the  part  the  organ  of  Murder,  because  he  had  found  it 
largest  in  criminals  condemned  for  that  crime.  In  a  similar  way, 
when  he  had  discovered  the  connexion  between  the  sentiment  of 
Benevolence  and  another  portion  of  the  cerebral  mass,  he  called 
the  part  the  organ  of  Benevolence  ;  and  so  on  in  regard  to  the  other 
organs.  This  mode  of  proceeding  has  nothing  in  common  with 
the  formation  of  an  hypothesis  ;  and,  so  far  from  a  disposition  to 
invent  a  theory  being  conspicuous,  there  appears,  in  the  disjointed 
items  of  information  which  Dr.  Gall  at  first  presented  to  the  pub- 
lic, a  want  of  even  an  ordinary  regard  for  systematic  arrangement. 
His  only  object  seems  to  have  been  to  furnish  a  candid  and  unco- 
lored  statement  of  the  facts  in  nature  which  he  had  observed  ;  leav- 
ing their  value  to  be  ascertained  by  time  and  farther  investigation. 

As  soon,  however,  as  observation  had  brought  to  light  the  great 
body  of  the  facts,  and  the  functions  of  the  faculties  had  been  con- 
templated wdth  a  philosophical  eye,  a  system  of  mental  philosophy 
appeared  to  emanate  almost  spontaneously  from  the  previous  chaos - 

When  the  process  of  discovery  had  proceeded  a  certain  length, 
the  facts  were  found  to  be  connected  by  relations,  which  it  was  im 
possible  sooner  to  perceive.     Hence,  at  first,  the  doctrines  appear- 
ed as  a  mere  rude  and  undigested  mass,  of  rather  unseemlv  mate 
7 


50  HISTORY  OF  DR.  GALL'S  DISCOVERY. 

rials  ;  the  public  mirth  was,  not  unnaturally,  excited,  at  the  display 
of  organs  of  Theft,  Murder,  and  Cunning,  as  they  were  then  named; 
and  a  degree  of  obloquy  was  brought  upon  the  science,  from  which 
it  is  only  now  recovering.  At  this  stage  the  doctrine«  were  mere- 
ly a  species  of  physiognomy,  and  the  apparent  results  were  neither 
very  prominent  nor  inviting.  When,  however,  the  study  had 
been  pursued  for  years,  and  the  torch  of  philosophy  had  been  ap- 
plied to  the  facts  discovered  by  observation,  its  real  nature,  as  the 
science  of  the  human  mind,  and  its  high  utility,  became  apparent  ; 
and  its  character  and  name  changed  as  it  advanced.  The  follow- 
ing observations  of  Mr.  Locke  are  pecuharly  applicable  to  its 
histoiy  and  prospects.  "  Truth  (says  he)  scarce  ever  yet  carried 
it  by  vote  any  where,  at  its  first  appearance.  JVeio  opinions  are 
always  suspected,  and  usually  opposed  without  any  other  reason, 
than  because  they  are  not  common.  But  truth,  like  gold,  is  not 
the  less  so,  for  being  newly  brought  out  of  the  mine.  'Tis  trial 
and  examination  must  give  it  price,  and  not  any  antique  fashion  ; 
and,  though  it  be  not  yet  current  by  the  public  stamp,  yet  it  may, 
for  all  that,  be  as  old  as  nature,  and  is  certainly  not  the  less 
genuine." 

Having  now  unfolded  the  principles  and  method  of  investigation 
of  Phrenology,  I  solicit  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  one  question. 
We  have  heard  much  of  Antiphrenologists  ;  and  I  would  ask,  What 
does  Antiphrenologist  mean  .''  Does  it  mean  a  person  who,  like 
Mr.  Jeffrey,  denies  that  the  mind  in  feeling  and  reflecting  uses 
organs  at  all  ?  To  such  a  one  I  reply,  that  he  ought  to  call  himself  an 
antiphysiologist ;  because,  as  already  mentioned,  every  physiologi- 
cal writer  of  eminence,  in  Europe,  maintains,  that  the  brain  is  the 
organ  of  the  mind,  and  that  injuries  of  it  impair  the  mental  func- 
tions. Or  does  Antiphrenologist  mean  one  who  admits  the  brain  to 
be  the  organ  of  the  mind,  but  contends  that  the  whole  of  it  is  essen- 
tial to  every  mental  act  ?  then  I  request  of  him  to  reconcile  with 
his  theory  the  phenomena  of  dreaming,  partial  genius,  partif  1  idiocy, 
partial  insanity,  partial  lesion  of  mental  functions  arising  from  par- 
tial injuries  of  the  brain,  and  the  successive  developement  of  the 
mental  powers  in  youth.     If  Antiphrenologist  means  a  person  who 


OF  THE   SPINAL  MARROW  AND  NERVES.  51 

admits  the  mind  to  manifest  a  plurality  of  faculties  by  a  plurality  of 
organs,  but  denies  that  Phrenologists  have  ascertained  any  of  them, 
I  ask  him,  Whether  he  disputes  the  three  grand  propositions,  first, 
That  dissection  alone  does  not  reveal  functions  ;  second,  That 
reflection  on  consciousness  does  not  reveal  organs  ;  and,  thirdly, 
That  mental  manifestations  may  be  compared  vi^ith  developement 
of  brain?  If  he  denies  these  principles,  then  he  is  beyond  the 
reach  of  reason  ;  while,  if  he  admits  them,  I  would  ask  him  to  state 
what  forms  of  brain,  and  what  mental  manifestations  he  found  con- 
comitant in  his  observations  ?  because,  until  he  shall  make  such  a 
statement,  his  denial  of  the  correctness  of  the  observations  of 
others  is  entitled  to  no  consideration.  But  an  Antiphrenologist,  in 
any  of  these  senses,  has  never  yet  appeared.  The  word,  In  its 
common  signification,  seems  to  indicate  only  an  individual  who  is 
pleased  to  deny  that  Phrenologists  are  right,  without  knowing  either 
their  principles  or  facts,  or  having  any  pretensions  to  advance  the 
cause  of  truth,  by  propounding  sounder  data  or  correcter  observa- 
tions of  his  own. 


IIENERAL    VIEW    OF    THE    FUNCTIONS    OF  THE    SPINAL    MARROW 
AND    NERVES. 

Before  entering  on  the  discussion  of  the  Brain,  it  may  be 
useful  to  give  a  brief  account  of  Mr.  Charles  Bell's  discoveries  d 
the  functions  of  the  Nerves.  Dr.  Spurzheim,  and  many  authors 
before  him,  very  early  published  the  conjecture,  that  there  must  be 
different  nerves  for  sensibility  and  motion,  because  one  of  the  pow- 
ers is  occasionally  impaired,  while  the  other  remains  entire.  Mr. 
Bell  has  furnished  demonstrative  evidence  of  this  being  actually  the 
fact.  He  has  also  given  due  prominence  to  the  philosophical  prin- 
ciple, so  urgently  insisted  on  by  Phrenologists,  That,  in  all  de- 
partments of  the  animal  economy,  each  organ  performs  only  one 
function ;  and  that  wherever  complex  functions  appear,  complex 
organs  may  be  safely  predicated,  even  anterior  to  the  possibility  of 
demonstrating  them.  The  present  section  is  derived  from  Mr. 
Bell's  Anatomy  and  Physiology  of  the  Human  Body,  vol.  ii.,  7th 


o2  GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  FUNCTIONS 

edition,  1829  ;  and,  in  as  far  as  possible,  I  have  adhered  to  his  own 
expressions.  My  object  is  to  introduce  general  readers  to  a  know- 
ledge of  his  discoveries,  which  form  parts  of  an  extensive  System 
of  Anatomy,  or  of  Philosophical  Transactions,  or  of  professional 
publications,  which  they  seldom  peruse.  I  shall  omit  all  details 
necessary  only  for  medical  students,  as  Mr.  Bell's  work  is  the 
proper  source  of  instruction  for  them.  Even  the  general  reader 
will  probably  resort  to  Mr.  Bell's  pages,  after  being  informed  of 
their  interesting  contents  ;  he  will  find  them  clear,  instructive,  and 
most  ably  supported  by  evidence.  Any  errors  or  inaccuracies  in 
the  following  condensed  abstract,  are  chargeable  against  myself ; 
for  although  in  general  I  have  followed  Mr.  Bell's  own  expressions, 
the  arrangement  is  greatly  altered,  and,  occasionally,  sentences  of 
my  own  are  introduced. 

A  nerve,  says  Mr.  Bell,  is  a  firm  white  cord,  composed  of  nerv- 
ous matter  and  cellular  substance.  The  nervous  matter  exists  in 
distinct  threads,  which  are  bound  together  by  the  cellular  membrane. 
They  may  be  likened  to  a  bundle  of  hairs  or  threads,  inclosed  in  a 
sheath  composed  of  the  finest  membrane. 


The  figure  represents  a  nerve  greatly  magnified,  for  the  sake  of 
illustration,  and  consisting  of  distinct  filaments  ;  A,  the  nerve,  en- 
veloped in  its  membranous  sheath;  B,  one  of  the  threads  dissected 
out.  The  nerves  in  thickness  vary  from  the  diameter  of  a  small 
thread  to  that  of  a  vAdiip-cord.  They  are  dispersed  through  the 
body,  and  extend  to  every  part  which  enjoys  sensibility  or  motion, 
or  which  has  a  concatenated  action  with  another  part. 

The  matter  of  a  nerve  in  health,  and  in  the  full  exercise  cf  its  in- 
fluence, is  of  an  opaque  white  ;  it  is  soft  and  pulpy,  betwixt  fluid 
and  solid,  and  drops  from  the  probe.  When  putrid,  it  acquires  a 
green  color  ;  when  dried,  it  is  transparent.     Corrosive  sublimate 


OF  THE  SPINAL  MARROW  AND  NERVES.  53 

and  muriate  of  soda  harden  it ;  alkalis  dissolve  it.  Each  fibril  of 
a  nerve  is  convoluted,  and  runs  not  in  a  straight  line,  but  zig-zag,  like 
a  thread  drawn  from  a  worsted  stocking,  which  has  by  its  form  ac- 
quired elasticity  that  it  would  not  otherwise  have  possessed.  By 
■want  of  use,  the  matter  of  a  nerve  is  either  not  secreted  in  due 
proportion,  or  it  changes  its  appearance  ;  for  the  nerve  then  acquires 
a  degree  of  transparency. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  any  fluid  or  spirit  circulates  in  the 
nerves  ;  nor  is  there  any  that  the  nervous  fibrils  are  tubes. 

Nerves  are  supplied  with  arteries  and  veins,  and  their  dependence 
on  the  supply  of  blood  is  proved  by  the  fact,  that  if  a  limb  be  de- 
prived of  blood,  the  nerves  lose  their  powers,  and  sensibility  is 
lost.  If  a  nerve  be  partially  compressed,  so  as  to  interrupt  the  free 
entrance  of  the  blood  into  it,  both  the  power  over  the  muscles  and 
the  reception  of  sensation  through  it  are  interrupted  ;  and  when  the 
blood  is  admitted  again,  painful  tingling  accompanies  the  change. 
It  is  not  the  compression  of  the  tubes  of  a  nerve,  but  the  obstruc- 
tion of  its  blood-vessels,  which  produces  the  loss  of  power  conse- 
quent on  tying  it.  The  brain,  the  nerve  of  the  eye,  the  ear,  the 
nerves  of  sense  and  motion,  are  all  affected  by  changes  in  the 
circulation  ;  and  each  organ,  according  to  its  natural  function,  is 
variously  influenced  by  the  same  cause — the  rushing  of  blood  into 
it,  or  the  privation  of  its  proper  quantity. 

A  nerve  consists  of  distinct  filaments  ;  but  there  is  nothing  per- 
ceptible in  these  filaments  to  distinguish  them  from  each  other.  One 
filament  serves  for  the  purpose  of  sensation  ;  another  for  muscular 
motion  ;  a  third  for  combining  the  muscles,  when  in  the  act  of  res- 
piration. But  the  subserviency  of  any  of  all  these  filaments  to  its 
proper  ofiice,  must  be  discovered  by  following  it  out,  and  observ- 
ing its  relations,  and  especially  its  origin  in  the  brain  and  spinal 
marrow.  In  their  substance  there  is  nothing  particular.  They  all 
seem  equally  to  contain  a  soft  pulpy  matter,  enveloped  in  cellular 
membrane,  and  so  surrounded  with  a  tube  of  this  membrane  as  to 
present  a  continuous  track  of  pulpy  nervous  matter,  from  the  near- 
est extremity  in  the  brain  to  the  extremity  which  ends  in  a  muscle 
or  in  the  skin. 


54  GENERAL  VIEW  OF   THE  FUNCTIONS 

The  key  to  the  system  will  be  found  in  the  simple  proposition, 
that  each  filament  or  track  of  nervous  matter  has  its  peculiar  en- 
dowment, independently  of  the  others  which  are  bound  up  along 
with  it ;  and  that  it  continues  to  have  the  same  endowment  through- 
out its  whole  length.  There  is  no  interchange  of  powers  betwixt 
the  different  filaments ;  but  a  minute  filament  of  one  kind  may  be 
found  accompanying  a  filament  of  a  different  kind,  each  giving  a 
particular  power  to  the  part  in  which  it  is  ultimately  distributed. 

Some  nerves  give  sensibility  ;  but  there  are  others,  as  perfectly 
and  delicately  constituted,  which  possess  no  sensibility  whatever. 
Sensibility  results  from  the  particular  part  of  the  brain  which  is 
affected  by  the  nerve.  If  the  eye-ball  is  pressed,  the  outward  integ- 
uments feel  pain,  but  the  retina  gives  no  pain,  only  rings  of  light  or 
fire  appear  before  the  eye.  In  the  operation  of  couching  the  cat- 
aract, the  needle  must  pierce  the  retina;  the  effect,  however,  is 
not  pain,  but  to  produce,  as  it  were,  a  spark  of  fire  ;  and  so,  an 
impression  on  the  nerve  of  hearing,  the  papillae  of  taste,  or  any 
organ  of  sense,  does  not  produce  pain.  The  sensation  excited  has 
'ts  character  determined  by  the  part  of  the  brain  to  which  the  nerve 
is  related  at  its  root.  But  there  are  nerves  which  have  no  relation 
to  outward  impression.  There  are  nerves  purely  for  governing  the 
muscular  frame,  these  being  constituted  for  conveying  the  mandate 
of  the  will,  do  not  stand  related  to  an  organ  of  sense  in  the  brain  ; 
hence  no  sensibility  and  no  pain  will  be  produced  by  them.  Each 
of  these  may  be  said  to  be  a  nerve  of  exquisite  feeling  in  one  sense, 
that  is,  it  may  be  a  cord  which  unites  two  organs  in  intimate  sym- 
pathies, so  as  to  cause  them  to  act  in  unison  ;  yet,  being  bruised  or 
injured,  it  will  give  rise  to  no  perception  of  any  kind,  because  it 
does  not  stand  related  to  a  part  of  the  brain,  whose  office  it  is  to 
produce  either  the  general  impression  of  pain,  or  heat,  or  cold,  or 
vision,  or  hearing  :  It  is  not  the  office  of  that  part  of  the  brain  to 
which  it  is  related  to  produce  perception  at  all. 

At  the  conflux  of  the  nervous  filaments,  small  reddish  tumours 
appear,  which  are  named  ganglions  (See  D  in  fig.  p.  56).  A  gan- 
glion resembles  in  form  the  circular  swellings  which  appear  on  the 
stalk  of  a  straw  or  of  a  cane  ;  but  ganglions  do  not  rise  at  regular 


OF  THE  SPINAL  MARROW  AND  NERVES.  55 

intervals  on  the  nerves  like  these  swellings.  Ganglions  are  laid  in 
a  regular  succession  in  the  whole  length  of  the  body,  and,  in  the 
vertebral  animals,  form  a  regular  series  down  each  side  of  the  spinal 
marrow  ;  the  nerve  of  communication  among  them  is  the  great  sym- 
pathetic nerve.  There  are  other  ganglions  seated  in  the  head, 
neck,  and  cavities  of  the  chest  and  belly,  which  are  very  irregular 
in  their  situation  and  form. 

The  color  of  the  ganglions  differs  from  that  of  the  nerves  ;  it  is 
redder,  which  is  owing  to  the  greater  number  of  blood-vessels : 
They  consist  of  the  same  matter  with  the  brain. 

Wherever  we  trace  nerves  of  motion,  we  find  that,  before  enter- 
mg  the  muscles,  they  interchange  branches,  and  form  an  intricate 
mass  of  nerves,  which  is  termed  a  plexus.  A  plexus  is  intricate  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  muscles  to  be  supplied,  and  the  variety 
of  combinations  into  which  they  enter.  The  filaments  of  nerves 
which  go  to  the  skin,  and  have  the  simple  function  of  sensation, 
regularly  diverge  to  their  destination,  without  forming  a  plexus. 
From  the  fin  of  a  fish  to  the  arm  of  a  man,  the  plexus  increases  in 
complexity,  in  proportion  to  the  variety  or  extent  of  motions  to  be 
performed  in  the  extremity.  It  is  by  the  interchange  of  filaments 
that  combination  among  the  muscles  is  formed. 

Different  columns  of  nervous  matter  combine  to  form  the  spinal 
MARROW,  (A  B,  p.  56.).  Each  lateral  portion  of  the  spinal  marrow 
consists  of  three  tracks  or  columns  ;  one  for  voluntary  motion,  one 
for  sensation,  and  one  for  the  act  of  respiration.  So  that  the  spinal 
marrow  comprehends  in  all  six  rods,  intimately  bound  together,  but 
distinct  in  office  ;  and  the  capital  of  this  compound  column  is  the 
medulla  oblongata. 

The  anterior  column  of  each  lateral  division  of  the  spinal  mar- 
row is  for  motion  ;  the  posterior  column  is  for  sensation  ;  and  the 
middle  one  .s  for  respiration.  The  two  former  extend  up  into  the 
brain,  and  are  dispersed  or  lost  in  it ;  for  their  functions  stand 
related  to  the  sensorium  :  but  the  last  stops  short  in  the  medulla 
oblongata,  being  in  function  independent  of  reason,  and  capable  of 
'ts  office  independently  of  the  brain,  or  when  separated  from  it. 


5Q 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  FUNCTIONS 


A  B  the  spinal  marrow  seen  in  front ;  the  division  into  lateral  portions  appearing 
at  the  line  A  B.  The  nervous  cord  C  arises  from  the  posterior  lateral  division, 
and  gives  sensibility.  The  swelling  D  is  its  ganglion.  The  nervous  cord  E 
arises  from  the  anterior  lateral  division,  and  gives  motion.  It  has  no  ganglion. 
These  two  cords  combine  at  F,  and  proceed  under  one  sheath  to  their  destina- 
tions. 

Mr.  Bell  struck  a  rabbit  behind  the  ear,  so  as  to  deprive  it  of 
sensibility  by  the  concussion,  and  then  exposed  the  spinal  marrow. 
On  irritating  the  posterior  roots  of  the  nerve,  he  could  perceive  no 
motion  consequent  on  any  part  of  the  muscular  frame ;  but  on 
irritating  the  anterior  roots  of  the  nerve,  at  each  touch  of  the 
forceps  there  was  a  corresponding  motion  of  the  muscles  to  which 
the  nerve  was  distributed.  These  experiments  satisfied  him  that 
the  different  roots  and  different  columns  from  which  those  roots 
arose,  were  devoted  to  distinct  offices,  and  that  the  notions  drawn 
from  the  anatomy  were  correct. 

Mr.  Bell  performed  certain  interesting  experiments  on  the  fifth 
pair  of  nerves,  which  originates  from  the  brain.  In  his  Plate  I. 
he  represents  this  nerve  rising  from  two  roots,  one  of  them  coming 
from  the  cms  cerebri,  corresponding  to  the  anterior  column  of  the 
spinal  marrow  ;  and  the  other  from  the  cms  cerebeUi,  correspon- 
ding to  the  posterior  column  of  the  spinal  marrow.  There  is  a 
ganglion  on  the  latter  branch,  and  none  on  the  former  ;  which  cir- 
cumstance also  is  in  exact  correspondence  with  the  nerves  rising 
from  the  spinal  marrow.  The  two  branches  combine  at  a  short 
distance  from  their  origin,  and  are  universally  distributed  to  the 
head  and  face.     Mr.  Bell  conceived  that  this  nerve  is  the  upper- 


OF  THE  SPINAL  MARROW  AND  NERVES.  57 

most  of  those  nerves  which  confer  motion  and  bestow  sensibility. 
To  confirm  this  opinion,  he  cut  across  the  posterior  branch,  or 
that  which  has  a  ganglion,  on  the  face  of  an  ass,  and  it  was 
found  that  the  sensibility  of  the  parts  to  which  it  was  distributed 
was  entirely  destroyed.  Again,  he  exposed  the  anterior  branch 
of  the  fifth  pair  at  its  root,  in  an  ass,  the  moment  the  animal  was 
killed  ;  and  on  irritating  the  nerve,  the  muscles  of  the  jaw  acted, 
and  the  jaw  was  closed  with  a  snap.  On  dividing  the  root  of  the 
nerve  in  a  living  animal,  the  jaw  fell  relaxed.  Thus  its  functions 
were  no  longer  matter  of  doubt :  it  was  at  once  a  muscular  nerve 
and  a  nerve  of  sensibility.  And  thus  the  opinion  was  confirmed, 
that  the  fifth  nerve  was  to  the  head,  what  the  spinal  nerves  were 
to  the  other  parts  of  the  body. 

The  muscles  have  two  nerves,  v^hich  fact  had  not  been  noticed 
previously  to  Mr.  Bell's  investigations,  because  they  are  commonly 
bound  up  together  ;  but  whenever  the  nerves,  as  about  the  head, 
go  in  a  separate  course,  we  find  that  there  is  a  sensitive  nerve  and 
a  motor  nerve  distributed  to  the  muscular  fibre,  and  we  have  reason 
to  conclude  that  those  branches  of  the  spinal  nerves  which  go  to 
the  muscles,  consist  of  a  motor  and  a  sensitive  filament.  The 
nerve  of  touch  or  feeling,  ramified  on  the  skin,  is  distinct  from 
both. 

It  was  formerly  supposed  that  the  office  of  a  muscular  nerve  is 
only  to  carry  out  the  mandate  of  the  will,  and  to  excite  the  muscle 
to  action ;  but  this  betrays  a  very  inaccurate  knowledge  of  the 
action  of  the  muscular  system  ;  for  before  the  muscular  system  can 
be  controlled  under  the  influence  of  the  will,  there  must  be  a  con- 
sciousness or  knowledge  of  the  condition  of  the  muscle. 

When  we  admit  that  the  various  conditions  of  the  muscle  must 
be  estimated  or  perceived,  in  order  to  be  under  the  due  control 
of  the  will,  the  natural  question  arises,  Is  that  nerve  which  carries 
out  the  mandate  of  the  will,  capable  of  conveying,  at  the  same 
moment,  an  impression  retrograde  to  the  course  of  that  influence, 
which,  obviously,  is  going  from  the  brain  towards  the  muscle  ?  If 
we  had  no  facts  of  anatomy  to  proceed  upon,  still  reason  would 
declare  to  us,  that  the  same  filament  of  a  nerve  could  not  convey 
8 


58  GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  FUNCTIONS 

a  motion,  of  whatever  nature  that  motion  may  be,  whether  vibra- 
tion or  motion  of  spirits,  in  opposite  directions,  at  the  same  mo- 
ment of  time. 

Mr.  Bell  has  found,  that,  to  the  full  operation  of  the  muscular 
power,  two  distinct  filaments  of  nerves  are  necessary,  and  that  a 
circle  is  established  between  the  sensorium  and  the  muscle  :  that 
one  filament  or  simple  nerve  carries  the  influence  of  the  will  to- 
wards the  muscle,  which  nerve  has  no  power  to  convey  an  impres- 
sion backwards  to  the  brain  ;  and  that  another  nerve  connects 
the  muscle  with  the  brain,  and,  acting  as  a  sentient  nerve,  conveys 
the  impression  of  the  condition  of  the  muscle  to  the  mind,  but  has 
no  operation  in  a  direction  outward  from  the  brain  towards  the 
muscle,  and  does  not  therefore  excite  the  muscle,  however  irri- 
tated. 

There  are  four  nerves  coming  out  of  a  track  or  column  of  the 
spinal  marrow,  from  which  neither  the  nerves  of  sensation,  nor 
of  common  voluntary  motion,  take  their  departure.  Experiment 
proves  that  these  nerves  excite  motions  dependent  on  the  act  of 
respiration. 

Under  the  class  of  respiratory  motions,  we  have  to  distinguish 
two  kinds  :  first,  the  involuntary,  or  instinctive  ;  secondly,  those 
which  accompany  an  act  of  volition.  We  are  unconscious  of  that 
state  of  alternation  of  activity  and  rest  which  characterises  the  in- 
stinctive act  of  breathing  in  sleep  ;  and  this  condition  of  activity 
of  the  respiratory  organs,  we  know  by  experiment,  is  independent 
of  the  brain.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  we  see  that  the  act  of 
respiration  is  sometimes  an  act  of  volition,  intended  to  accomplish 
some  other  operation,  as  that  of  smelling  or  speaking.  Mr.  Bell 
apprehends  that  it  is  this  compound  operation  of  the  organs  of 
breathing  which  introduces  a  certain  degree  of  complexity  into  the 
system  of  respiratory  nerves.  A  concurrence  of  the  nerves  of 
distinct  systems  will  be  found  necessary  to  actions,  which,  at  first 
sight,  appear  to  be  very  simple. 

If  we  cut  the  division  of  the  fifth  nerve,  vi^hich  goes  to  the  lips 
of  an  ass,  we  deprive  the  lips  of  sensibility  ;  so  that,  when  the 
animal  presses  the  lips  to  the  ground,  and  against  the  oats  lying 


OF  THE  SPINAL  MARROW  AND  NERVES  59 

there,  it  does  not  feel  them  ;  and  consequently  there  is  no  effort 
made  to  gather  them.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  cut  the  seventh 
nerve,  where  it  goes  to  the  lips,  the  animal  feels  the  oats,  but  it 
can  make  no  effort  to  gather  them,  the  power  of  muscular  motion 
being  cut  off  by  the  division  of  the  nerve.  Thus  we  perceive  that, 
in  feeding,  just  as  in  gathering  any  thing  with  the  hand,  the  feeling 
directs  the  effort ;  and  two  properties  of  the  nervous  system  are 
necessary  to  a  very  simple  action. 

After  the  investigation  of  the  regular  system  of  nerves  of  sensa- 
tion and  voluntary  motion,  the  question  that  had  so  long  occupied 
Mr.  Bell,  viz.  What  is  the  explanation  of  the  excessive  intricacy 
of  the  nerves  of  the  face,  jaws,  throat,  and  breast?  became  of  easy 
solution.  These  nerves  are  agents  of  distinct  powers,  and  they 
combine  the  muscles  in  subserviency  to  different  functions. 

As  animals  rise  in  the  scale  of  being,  new  organs  are  bestowed 
upon  them  ;  and,  as  new  organs  and  new  functions  are  superadded 
to  the  original  constitution  of  the  frame,  new  nerves  are  given  also, 
and  new  sensibilities,  and  new  powers  of  activity. 

Mr.  Bell  remarks,  that  we  understand  the  use  of  all  the  intricate 
nerves  of  the  body,  with  the  exception  of  the  sixth  nerve,  which 
stands  connected  with  another  system  of  nerves  altogether,  namely, 
the  system  hitherto  called  the  Sympathetic,  or  sometimes  the 
Ganglionic  System  of  Nerves  ;  and  of  this  system  we  know  so 
little,  that  it  cannot  be  matter  of  surprise,  if  we  reason  ignorantly 
of  the  connexion  of  the  sixth  with  it. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  PHRENOLOGY. 


In  the  Introduction,  I  have  shown  that  the  Brain  is  admitted  by- 
Physiologists  in  general,  to  be  the  organ  of  the  Mind  ;  but  that  two 
obstacles  have  impeded  the  discovery  of  the  uses  of  its  particular 
parts.  1st,  Dissection  alone  does  not  reveal  the  functions  of  any 
organ.  No  person,  by  dissecting  the  optic  nerve,  could  predicate 
that  its  office  is  to  minister  to  vision ;  or,  by  dissecting  the  tongue, 
could  discover  that  it  is  the  organ  of  taste.  Anatomists,  therefore, 
could  not,  by  the  mere  practice  of  their  art,  discover  the  functions 
of  the  different  portions  of  the  brain.  2dly,  The  mind  is  not 
directly  conscious  of  acting  by  means  of  organs  ;  and  hence  the 
material  instruments,  by  means  of  which  It  performs  its  operations 
in  this  life,  and  communicates  with  the  external  world,  cannot  be 
discovered  by  reflection  on  consciousness. 

The  phrenologist  compares  developement  of  brain  with  manifest- 
ations of  mental  power,  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  the  func- 
tions of  the  brain,  and  the  organs  of  the  mind.  This  course  is 
adopted,  in  consequence  of  the  accidental  discovery  made  by  Dr. 
Gall,  that  certain  mental  powers  are  vigorously  manifested,  when 
certain  portions  of  the  brain  are  large,  and  vice  versa,  as  detailed 
in  the  Introduction.  It  is  free  from  the  objections  attending  the 
anatomical  and  metaphysical  modes  of  research,  and  conformable 
to  the  principles  of  inductive  philosophy. 

No  inquiry  is  instituted  into  the  substance  of  the  Mind,  or  into 
the  question.  Whether  the  mind  fashions  the  organs,  or  the  organs 
constitute  the  mind  ?  If  dissection  of  organs  does  not  reveal  their 
functions,  and  if  reflection  on  consciousness  does  not  disclose  the 
nature  of  the  mind's  connexion  with  matter,  no  means  remain  of 
arriving  at  philosophical  conclusions  on  these  points  ;  and  specula- 


62  ON  THE  PRINCIPLES 

live  reasoning  concerning  them,  although  it  may  amuse  the  fancy, 
cannot  instruct  the  judgment.  Mr.  Stewart  justly  observes,  "that 
the  metaphysical  opinions  which  we  may  happen  to  have  formed 
concerning  the  nature  either  of  body  or  of  mind,  and  the  efficient 
causes  by  which  their  phenomena  are  produced,  have  no  necessary 
connexion  with  our  inquiries  concerning  the  laws  according  to 
which  the  phenomena  take  place."  "Whether,  for  example,  the 
cause  of  gravitation  be  material  or  immaterial,  is  a  point  about 
which  two  Newtonians  may  diffef,  while  they  agree  perfectly  in 
their  physical  opinions.  It  is  sufficient  if  both  admit  the  general 
fact,  that  bodies  tend  to  approach  each  other,  with  a  force  varying 
with  their  mutual  distance,  according  to  a  certain  law.  In  like 
manner,  in  the  study  of  the  human  mind,  the  conclusions  to  which 
We  are  led  by  a  careful  examination  of  the  phenomena  it  exhibits, 
have  no  necessary  connexion  with  our  opinions  concerning  its 
nature  and  essence.''^ — Elements,  vol.  i.  Introduction.  The  object 
of  phrenology  is  to  discover  the  Faculties  of  the  Human  Mind  ; 
the  organs  by  means  of  v>^hich  they  are  manifested  ;  and  the  influ- 
ence of  the  organs  on  the  manifestations.  It  does  not  enable  us 
to  predict  actions. 

A  mental  organ  is  a  material  instrument,  by  means  of  which  the 
Mind  in  this  life  manifests  a  particular  power.  Dr.  Gall's  discov- 
ery leads  us  to  view  the  Brain  as  a  congeries  of  such  organs,  and 
in  the  Introduction,  reasons  have  been  assigned  for  regarding  this 
proposition  as  sufficiently  probable,  to  justify  an  inquiry  into  the 
direct  evidence  by  which  it  is  supported.  For  the  purpose  of 
comparing  mental  faculties  with  cerebral  developement,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  show,  1st,  That  the  mental  qualities  of  individuals  can  be 
discovered  ;  and,  2dly,  That  the  size  of  different  parts  of  the  brain 
can  be  ascertained  during  life. 

1st,  Discrimination  of  mental  Dispositions  and  Talents. — In 
regard  to  the  Feelings,  men  practised  in  the  business  of  ^.ife  have 
observed,  that  one  individual  is  strongly  addicted  to  covetousness, 
— another  to  cruelty, — another  to  benevolence, — another  to  pride, 
—another  to  vanity;  and  they  are  accustomed  to  regard  these  dis- 


OF  THE  SYSTEM.  63 

positions  as  natural,  uniform,  and  permanent.  They  have  never 
believed,  that  a  man,  by  an  effort  of  the  will,  can  totally  change 
his  nature,  or  that  the  true  character  is  so  little  manifested,  that  a 
person  may  be  prone  to  benevolence  to-day,  who  yesterday  was 
addicted  to  avarice  ;  that  one  who  is  now  sinking  in  the  lowest 
abasement  of  self-humiliation  in  his  own  eyes,  may  to-morrow  be- 
come conceited,  confident  and  proud  ;  or  that  to-day  an  individual 
may  be  deaf  to  the  voice  of  censure  or  of  fame,  who  yesterday  was 
tremblingly  alive  to  every  breath  that  was  blown  upon  his  charac- 
ter. Nay,  they  have  even  regarded  these  dispositions  as  indepen- 
dent of  one  another,  and  separable  ;  for  they  have  often  found  that 
the  possession  of  one  was  not  accompanied  with  the  presence  of 
the  whole.  Hence,  in  addressing  any  individual,  they  have  been 
in  the  custom  of  modifying  their  conduct,  according  to  their  pre- 
vious knowledge  of  his  dispositions  or  genius,  obtained  by  observ- 
ing his  actions.  To  the  covetous  man  they  address  one  motive  ; 
to  the  benevolent  another ;  to  the  proud  a  third  ;  and  to  the  vain  a 
fourth.  When  they  wish  to  move  such  individuals  to  act,  they 
speak  to  the  first,  of  his  personal  interest ;  to  the  second,  of  the 
pleasure  of  doing  good;  to  the  third,  of  the  necessity  of  preserving 
his  oion  dignity;  and  to  the  fourth,  of  the  great  praise  that  will 
attend  the  performance  of  the  action  recommended. 

As  to  intellectual  endowments,  a  person  who  has  heard,  for 
the  most  fleeting  moment,  the  bursts  of  melody  which  flow  from 
the  throat  of  Catalani,  cannot  be  deceived  as  to  the  fact  of  her 
possessing  a  great  endowment  of  the  faculty  of  Tune  ;  he  who  has 
hstened  but  for  a  few  minutes  to  the  splendid  eloquence  of  Chal- 
mers, can  have  no  doubt  that  he  is  gifted  with  Ideality;  and  he 
who  has  studied  the  writings  of  Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  cannot  hesitate 
as  to  his  having  manifested  profound  discriminative  and  analytic 
talent.  In  surveying  the  prodigies  performed  by  some  individuals 
in  mechanics,  poetry,  painting,  and  sculpture,  it  is  equally  impos- 
sible to  doubt  the  existence  of  particular  powers,  conferring  capa- 
cities for  excelling  in  these  different  branches  of  art.  It  is  equally 
easy  to  find  individuals,  in  whom  these  various  powers  are  as  indu- 
bitably deficient.  Hence  the  difficulties  of  determining  the  exist- 
ence of  particular  intellectual  talents,  and  their  degrees  of  strength. 


64  ON  THE  PRINCIPLES 

are  not  unsurmountable;  especially  if  extreme  cases  be  sought  for, 
and  these,  as  the  instantia  ostentiva^  ought  to  be  first  resorted  to. 
Men  of  observation  have  acted  on  these  principles  without  hesita- 
tion, and  without  injury  to  themselves.  They  have  not  designed 
for  the  orchestra,  the  individual  whom  they  found  incapable  of 
distinguishing  betwixt  a  rude  noise  and  a  melodious  sound,  on  the 
notion,  that  "a  genius  for  music''''  might  be  "acquired  by  habits 
of  study  or  of  business."  They  do  not  place  in  difficult  situations, 
requiring  great  penetration  and  much  sagacity,  individuals  who 
cannot  trace  consequences  beyond  the  stretch  of  three  ideas  ;  nor 
do  they  conceive,  that  a  man,  who  has  no  intellectual  capacity 
to-day,  may  become  a  genius  to-morrow,  or  in  ten  years  hence,  by 
an  effort  of  the  will. 

They,  no  doubt,  have  always  observed,  that  the  faculties  are 
developed  in  succession  ;  that  the  child  is  not  in  possession  of  the 
powers  of  the  full  grown  man  ;  and  that,  hence,  a  boy  may  be  dull 
at  ten,  who  may  turn  out  a  genius  at  twenty  years  of  age,  when 
his  powers  are  fully  unfolded  by  time.  But  they  do  not  imagine 
that  every  boy  may  be  made  a  genius,  by  habits  of  study  or  of 
business  ;  nor  believe,  that,  after  the  faculties  are  fully  developed, 
any  individual  may,  by  exertions  of  the  will,  become  great  in  a  de- 
partment of  philosophy  or  science,  for  which  he  had  previously  no 
natural  capacity.  They  have  observed,  that  cultivation  strengthens 
powers,  in  themselves  vigorous  ;  but  they  have  not  found  that 
education  can  render  eminently  energetic,  dispositions  or  capacities 
which  nature  has  created  feeble.  On  the  other  hand,  they  have 
remarked,  that,  where  Nature  has  bestowed  a  powerful  disposition 
or  capacity  of  a  particular  kind,  it  will  hold  the  predominant  sway 
in  the  character  during  life,  notwithstanding  every  effort  to  eradi- 
cate or  subdue  it.  They  have  noticed,  too,  that  where  Nature 
has  bestowed,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  faculties  which  constitute 
genius,  the  individual  will  manifest  his  native  superiority,  in  spite 
of  great  obstacles  arising  from  circumstances  or  siaiatiou.  The 
lives  of  poets,  painters,  and  artists,  in  every  age,  display  examples 
of  the  truth  of  this  observation. 

An  individual,  no  doubt,  may  do  particular  actions,  or  even  for 
a  time  follow  a  course  of  action,  the  same  in  external  appearance, 


.   OF  THE  SYSTEM.  65 

from  different  internal  motives.  But  few  men  can  pass  their  whole 
lives  in  disguise,  or  acquire  the  art  of  acting  in  the  business  ana 
enjoyments  of  life,  so  habitually  and  so  skilfully,  as  not  to  allow  their 
true  characters  to  appear  to  those  who  are  placed  in  a  favorable 
situation  to  observe  them ;  or,  if  there  be  persons  who  do  possess 
this  power  of  dissimulation,  it  forms  the  predominant  feature  in 
their  mental  constitution  ;  and,  as  will  afterwards  be  shown,  it  is 
indicated  by  a  particular  form  of  organization.  But,  farther,  let  it 
be  observed,  that  it  is  only  in  so  far  as  the  propensities  and  senti- 
ments of  our  nature  are  concerned,  that  disguise  is  possible,  even 
in  a  single  case.  In  every  act  that  depends  on  the  knowing  and 
reflecting  faculties,  it  is  absolutely  impracticable.  No  man  can 
either  write  logical  discourses,  or  trace  profoundly  an  abstract 
principle,  who  has  not  powerful  reflecting  faculties.  No  one  can 
compose  exquisite  music,  who  has  not  the  faculty  of  Tune,  or  write 
exquisite  poetry,  who  has  not  the  sentiment  of  Ideality.  When, 
therefore,  we  perceive,  even  with  the  most  transient  glance,  such 
acts  to  be  performed,  we  have  evidence,  insuperable  and  irresist- 
ible, of  the  existence  of  the  faculties  which  produce  them. 

These  opinions  have  been  entertained  by  persons  conversant 
with  society,  not  in  consequence  of  logical  deduction  or  metaphys- 
ical investigations,  but  from  the  observation  of  plain  facts,  pre- 
sented to  the  cognizance  of  their  understandings. 

Thus  fortified,  I  venture  to  conclude  that  the  first  point  is  estab- 
lished in  favor  of  Phrenology,  viz.  that  it  is  possible,  by  accurate, 
patient,  and  continued  observation  of  actions,  to  discover  the  true 
dispositions  and  capacities  which  individuals  possess.  As  this  phi- 
losophy is  founded  on  a  comparison  betwixt  the  manifestations  of 
these  faculties,  and  the  developement  of  the  brain,  the  second  point 
to  be  ascertained  is,  Whether  it  be  possible,  in  general,  to  discover 
the  true  form  of  the  brain,  by  observing  the  figure  of  the  head. 

OF  THE  BRAIN,  CEREBELLUM,  AND  SKULL. 

The  Anatomy  of  the  Brain  is  minutely  described  by  Dr. 
Spnrzheim,  in  his  anatomical  work.     It  is  not  indispensably  neces- 

9 


66 


OF  THE  BRAIN,  CEREBELLUM, 


sary,  although  highly  advantageous,  to  become  acquainted  with  it, 
in  order  to  become  a  practical  phrenologist.  A  brief  description 
of  its  general  appearance  will  suffice  to  convey  an  idea  of  it  to 
the  non-medical  reader.  The  proper  subjects  for  observation  are 
healthy  individuals  below  the  middle  period  of  life.  The  brain, 
stript  of  its  outer  covering,  the  dura  mater,  is  represented  in  figures 
1.  and  2.  These  figures  and  the  accompanying  descriptions,  are 
not  intended  for  anatomical  purposes  ;  the  sole  object  of  them  is  to 
convey  some  conception  of  the  appearance  of  the  brain,  to  readers 
who  have  no  opportunity  of  seeing  it  in  nature. 


Figure  1  represents  the  upper  surface  of  the  brain,  stript  of  membrane  ;  the  skull; 
through  the  middle  part  of  which  a  horizontal  section  is  made,  surrounds  it 
The  front  is  at  A ;  and  the  line  A  B  is  the  division  between  the  two  hemis 
pheres.   A  strong  membrane   called  the  falciform  process  of  the  dura  mater 


AND  SKULL. 


67 


represented  on  page  72,  descends  into  it ;  and  forms  the  partition.  It  goes  down 
only  about  two-thirds  of  the  depth ;  below  which  the  two  hemispheres  are  join- 
ed together  by  fibres  which  cross,  forming  what  is  called  the  corpus  callosum. 
The  waving  lines  are  the  convolutions,  the  furrows  between  which  descend 
from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  depth.  When  water  collects  in  the  internal  parts 
they  are  unfolded,  and  the  brain  presents  a  uniform  surface  of  great  extent. 
The  parts  seen  in  this  figure  are  all  composed  externally  of  cineritious  substance. 

Fig.  2. 


Figure  2.  represents  the  base  of  the  brain  taken  out  of  the  skull.  This  figure 
has  been  copied  from  a  different  brain  from  that  represented  in  figure  1.  It  is 
longer  and  narrower.  The  division  into  hemispheres  does  not  descend  to  the 
base.  Anatomists,  for  the  sake  of  giving  precision  to  descriptions,  divide  the 
brain  into  three  lobes,  called  the  anterior,  middle,  and  posterior.  The  parts 
before  AA  are  called  the  frontal  or  anterior  lobe ;  the  parts  behind  CC,  the 
posterior  lobe;  and  the  parts  between  them,  the  middle  lobe.  Anatomists 
draw  lines  from  AA  and  CC  directly  up  the  sides,  and  over  the  upper  surface 
of  the  brain,  till  they  meet  at  the  top,  and  include  in  the  different  lobes  the 
whole  parts  so  mapped  out ;  but  the  lines  are  imaginary,  and  like  those  of 
latitude  and  longitude  on  a  globe,  are  introduced  merely  to  indicate  the  local- 
ities of  the  parts.     The  convolutions  before  AA  lie  chiefly  on  the  bones  which 


68  OF  THE  BRAIN,  CEREBELLUM, 

form  the*  roofs  of  the  sockets  of  the  eye-balls.  The  convolutions  between 
A  and  C  lie  chiefly  above  the  ear.  DD  is  the  cerebellum.  E  is  the  medulla 
oblongata,  which  during  life  descends  almost  perpendicularly  from  the  brain, 
and  joins  with  the  top  of  the  spinal  marrow. 

The  Brain  is  a  mass  of  soft  matter,  not  homogeneous,  but  pre- 
senting different  appearances.  Part  of  it  is  white  in  color,  fibrous 
or  striated  in  texture,  arranged  in  lines  distantly  resembling  the 
outer  surface  of  a  cockle-shell.  This  is  generally  named  medullary 
substance,  and  abounds  most  in  the  interior.  The  other  matter  is 
of  a  gray  color,  and  has  no  fibrous  appearance.  It  is  called  cineri- 
tious,  from  the  similarity  of  its  hue  to  that  of  ashes,  and  sometimes 
cortical,  from  its  supposed  resemblance  to  bark.  It  forms  the  outer 
part  of  the  brain.  The  cineritious  substance  does  not  blend  gradu- 
ally with  the  white  medullary  matter,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  hne, 
of  distinction  is  abrupt.  The  cineritious  seems  to  have  a  greater 
proportion  of  blood  circulating  in  it  than  the  medullary.  There  is 
no  fat  or  adipose  substance  within  the  skull,  although  it  pervades 
every  other  part  of  the  body. 

The  brain  consists  of  two  hemispheres,  separated  by  a  strong 
membrane,  called  the  Falciform  process  of  the  dura  mater.  Each 
hemisphere  is  divided  into  three  lobes,  the  anterior,  middle,  and 
posterior.  The  cerebellum  is  distinct  from,  but  connected  with, 
the  brain.  Mr.  Bell  observes,*  that  "  whatever  we  observe  on 
one  side  has  a  corresponding  part  on  the  other  ;  and  an  exact 
resemblance  and  symmetry  f  is  preserved  in  all  the  lateral  divisions 
of  the  brain.  And  so,  if  we  take  the  proof  of  anatomy,  we  must 
admit,  that,  as  the  nerves  are  double,  and  the  organs  of  sense  dou- 
ble, so  is  the  brain  double  ;  and  every  sensation  conveyed  to  the 
brain  is  conveyed  to  the  two  lateral  parts,  and  the  operations  per- 
formed must  be  done  in  both  lateral  portions  at  the  same  moment. '' 

The  two  hemispheres,  and  of  course  the  organs  of  each  side, 

*  Anatomy  of  the  Brain,  ii.  381. 

t  This  statement  of  Mr.  Bell  is  not  rigidly  correct.  There  is  a  general  corres- 
pondence between  the  parts  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  brain,  but  not  "  an  exact 
symmetry,"  in  the  strict  sense  of  these  words.  The  approximation  to  symmetry 
is  about  as  great  as  between  the  blood-vessels  in  the  right  and  left  arms. 


AND  SKULL.  69 

are  brought  into  communication  and  co-operation  by  fibres  running 
transversely  ;  these  are  called  the  corpus  callosum,  and  the  Ante- 
rior and  Posterior  commissures.  The  cerebellum  and  brain  ai-e 
only  slightly  and  indirectly  connected. 

The  greater  part  of  the  brain  is  destitute  of  sensibility  :  It  may  be 
pierced  or  cut  without  the  patient  being  aware,  from  any  feeling  of 
pain,  that  it  is  suffering  injury.  Mr.  Bell  mentions,  that  he  "had 
his  finger  deep  in  the  anterior  lobes  of  the  brain,  when  the  patient, 
being  at  the  same  time  acutely  sensible,  and  capable  of  expressing 
himself,  complained  only  of  the  integument."  So  far  from  think- 
ing the  parts  of  the  brain  which  are  insensible,  to  be  parts  inferior 
in  function  (as  every  part  has  its  use,)  Mr.  Bell  states,  that,  even 
from  this,  he  should  be  led  to  imagine  that  they  had  a  higher  office, 
namely,  that  they  v\^ere  more  allied  to  intellectual  operations.  The 
wide  difference  of  function  betwixt  a  part  destined  to  receive 
impressions,  and  a  part  which  is  the  seat  of  thought,  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  presence  of  sensibility  in  some  parts  of  the  brain, 
and  its  absence  in  others. 

The  external  substance  of  the  brain  is  arranged  in  convolutions 
or  folds.  The  convolutions  appear  intended  for  the  purpose  of 
increasing  the  superficial  extent  of  the  brain,  with  the  least  possible 
enlargement  of  its  absolute  size  ;  an  arrangement  analogous  to  that 
employed  in  the  eye  of  the  eagle  and  falcon,  in  which  the  retina 
does  not  form  a  continuous  line,  as  in  man  and  quadrupeds,  but  is 
presented  in  folds  to  the  rays  of  light,  whereby  the  intensity  of  vision 
is  increased  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  nervous  surface  exposed 
to  their  influence.  The  rolling  up  of  the  substance  of  the  brain  "in 
folds  in  a  similar  manner,  strongly  indicates  that  extent  of  surface 
is  highly  important  to  its  functions.  In  certain  low  classes  of  the 
inferior  animals,  there  are  no  convolutions.  As  we  ascend  in  the 
scale  of  beings,  they  increase,  "  and  in  man  above  all  other  animals, 
are  the  convolutions  numerous,  and  the  sulci  (or  furrows)  deep,  and, 
consequently,  the  cineritious  mass  great,  and  its  extension  of  sur- 
face far  beyond  that  of  all  other' creatures." — Bell's  Anat.  ii.  386. 
The  cineritious  matter  is  extended  over  all  the  upper,  lateral, 
and  over  part  of  the  inferior  surfaces  of  the  brain  :  the  white  or 


70  OF  THE  INTEGUMENTS 

medullary  matter  lies  within  it,  and  in  some  places  in  intimate  com- 
bination with  it.  Medullary  fibres  run  from  the  convolutions  of  the 
brain  upon  one  side  to  the  convolutions  on  the  other.  These  are 
called  commissures.  "  Unless,"  says  Mr.  Bell,  "  the  cineritious 
masses  were  important  organs,  why  should  there  be  commissures 
or  nerves  forming  a  distinct  system,  arising  and  terminating  in  no- 
thing ^  But  if  we  take  them  as  commissures,  i.  e.  bonds  of  union 
betwixt  the  corresponding  sides  of  the  great  organ  of  the  mind,  we 
at  once  perceive  how  careful  nature  is  to  unite  the  two  lateral 
organs  together,  and  out  of  two  organs  to  make  one  more  per- 
fect."—P.  386. 

Each  side  of  the  brain,  and  also  the  cerebellum,  are  supplied 
with  separate  arteries  conveying  the  blood  to  them  ;  but  the  sinuses 
or  canals,  by  means  of  which  the  blood  is  returned  to  the  heart, 
are  common  to  them  all. 

The  cerebellum  is  composed  of  the  same  nervous  matter  with 
the  brain,  and  presents  both  cineritious  and  medullary  matter  ;  but, 
in  form  and  internal  arrangement,  it  is  quite  unlike  the  brain.  The 
cerebellum  is  separated  from  the  brain  by  a  strong  membrane,  call- 
ed the  tentorium:  in  animals  which  leap,  as  the  cat  and  tiger,  the 
separation  is  produced  by  a  thin  plate  of  bone.  Its  fibres,  however, 
originate  in  that  part  of  the  medulla  oblongata  called  the  corpora 
restiformia,  from  which  also  the  organs  of  several  feelings  or  pro- 
pensities arise  ;  so  that  the  brain  and  cerebellum,  although  separated 
by  the  tentorium,  are  both  connected  with  the  medulla  oblongata^ 
and  through  it  with  each  other. 

The  MEDULLA  OBLONGATA  is  somctimes  spoken  of  as  one  of 
the  three  great  divisions  of  the  brain.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  part  from 
which  the  fibrous  matter  of  the  brain  and  cerebellum  proceeds,  and 
it  forms,  as  it  were,  the  capital  of  the  column  of  the  spinal  marrow. 

OP    THE    INTEGUBIENTS    OF    THE    BRAIN. 

The  brain  is  formed  before  the  bones  which  invest  it.  The 
ossification  of  the  bones  of  the  skull  is  a  gradual  process.  The 
brain    already   formed   is    invested   with   strong   membranes,  and 


OF  THE  BRAIN.  71 

betwixt  the  coats  of  the  outer  membrane  the  points  of  ossification 
commence,  which  process  is  not  completed  until  the  ninth  year. 

During  life,  the  brain  is  embraced  in  its  whole  peripheral  extent 
by  a  very  thin  transparent  and  delicate  membrane  called  the  pia 
mateVj  which  sinks  down  into  its  furrows,  and  serves  to  convey  the 
blood-vessels  to  its  different  parts.  Immediately  above  the  pia 
mater,  is  an  extremely  thin  membrane,  named  the  tunica  arach- 
noideuj  on  account  of  its  extreme  tenuity,  resembling  a  spider's 
web.  It  covers  the  surface  of  the  brain  uniformly  without  passing 
into  its  folds  or  cavities.  It  secretes  matter,  to  lubricate  the  sur- 
faces of  the  pia  and  dura  mater.  '  The  dura  raater  is  also  a  thin 
but  strong  opaque  membrane  lining  and  strongly  adhering  to  the 
inner  surface  of  the  skull,  and  which  embraces  the  outer  surface  of 
the  brain  above  the  membrane  last  mentioned.  When  in  health  it 
does  not  possess  sensibility,  and  has  been  pricked  without  causing 
pain.  All  these  membranes  are  pliant  in  the  highest  degree,  and 
accommodate  themselves  precisely  to  the  figure  of  the  brain.  The 
brain,  enclosed  in  them,  fills  exactly  the  interior  of  the  skull  ;  so 
that  a  cast,  in  plaster,  of  the  interior  of  the  skull,  is  a/ac  simile  of 
the  brain,  covered  by  the  dura  mater.  Between  the  dura  mater 
and  brain  a  very  small  quantity  of  fluid  is  said  to  exist  ;  but  not 
exceeding  a  line  in  thickness.  This  fluid  does  not,  in  any  degree 
that  can  be  distinguished  by  the  hand  or  eye,  cause  the  form  of  the 
interior  of  the  skull  to  differ  from  the  form  of  the  exterior  of  the 
brain  enveloped  by  the  dura  mater.  The  skull  is  not  an  adamantine 
barrier,  confining  the  brain  within  specific  boundaries  ;,  but  a  strong, 
yet  yielding  covering,  shielding  it,  and  accommodating  itself  to  its 
size,  while  in  the  progress  of  its  growth.  It  resembles,  in  this 
respect,  the  shell  of  a  crab  or  of  a  snail.  At  birth,  it  is  small ;  it 
increases  as  the  brain  increases;  and  it  stops  in  developement,  when 
the  brain  has  attained  its  full  size.  A  .process  of  absorption  and 
deposition  goes  continually  on  in  its  substance;  so  that,  if  the  brain 
presses  from  within,  the  renovating  particles  arrange  themselves 
according  to  this  pressure,  and  thus  the  figure  of  the  skull  and  of 
the  brain  in  general  correspond.  The  figures  (on  p.  72)  represent 
the  skull  at  birth  and  at  maturity  respectively. 


72  OF  THE  INTEGUMENTS 

Skull  at  Birth.  Adult  Skull 

A 

B 

AA  sutures.     B  mastoid  process  or  bony  projection  behind  the  ear.     C  process 
of  the  occipital  spine. 

The  skull  is  composed  of  eight  bones,  for  the  most  part  joined 
by  indented  edges  (AA  in  the  figures  above),  like  dovetailing  in 
carpenter- work.     The  lines  of  junction  are  named  Sutures.* 

A 


This  figure  represents  the  two  sides  of  the  skull  cut  away,  down  nearly  to  the 
level  of  the  eyebrow,  leaving  a  narrow  ridge  in  the  middle  of  the  top  stand- 
ing. AAA  is  the  edge  of  the  skull,  resembhng  an  arch.  The  outer  surface 
is  called  the  outer  table,  the  inner  surface  the  inner  table;  the  fine  waving 
lines  or  net- work  between  them,  like  cells  in  a  marrow-bone,  is  the  diplog. 
The  substance  hanging  down  from  the  skull,  having  delicate  lines  traced  on 
it,  like  tlie  sap-vessels  in  leaves,  is  the  membrane  which  separates  the  two 
halves  of  the  brain.  It  is  called  the  falciform  process  of  the  dura  mater,  from 
its  resemblance  to  a  scythe.  The  lines  are  the  blood-vessels;  the  blood  re- 
turning from  the  brain  to  the  heart,  goes  up  these  vessels  into  a  canal  formed 
by  the  membrane  all  along  the  line  of  its  attachment  to  the  skull.  The  course 
of  the  blood  through  the  canal  is  from  the  front  backwards,  and  then  down- 
wards. The  two  hemispheres  of  the  brain  are  completely  separated,  as  far  as 
this  membrane  extends  in  the  cut :  At  the  lower  edge  of  it  a  white  space 
appears,  and  the  commissure,  or  collection  of  fibres  which  unites  the  two 
sides,  goes  through  that  space.  The  cerebellum  lies  at  C,  in  a  part  of  the 
skull  not  opened.  The  membrane,  on  reaching  the  point  at  C,  spreads  out  to 
the  right  and  left,  and  runs  forward,  and  separates  the  cerebellum  from  the 

*  There  is  a  cast  of  the  skull,  accompanied  by  an  explanatory  card,  pointing 
out  all  the  bones,  sutures, and  processes,  with  their  names;  which  will  render  the 
subject  more  intelligible  than  any  description. 

This  cast  will  soon  be  for  sale  by  the  Publishers — 133  Washington  St.  Boston. 


OF  THE  BRAIN.  73 

brain ;  -the  brain  lying  above,  and  the  cerebellum  below  it.  B  is  the  mas- 
toid process,  or  bone  to  which  the  mastoid  muscles  of  the  neck  are  attached. 
It  lies  immediately  behind  the  opening  of  the  ear,  and  is  not  connected  with 
the  brain. 

The  external  and  internal  smooth  surfaces  of  the  bones  of  the 
skull,  ai-e  called  their  external  and  internal  tables,  or  plates^  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  the  intermediate  part  called  the  diploe-,  which 
is  of  a  looser  and  somewhat  cellular  texture,  resembling  the  inter- 
nal structure  of  the  bones.  As  the  diploe  is  nearly  equally  thick 
in  every  part,  it  follows  that  the  two  tables  of  the  skull  are  nearly 
parallel  to  each  other.  The  internal,  indeed,  bears  some  slight 
impressions  of  blood-vessels,  glands,  &c.,  which  do  not  appear 
externally,  but  these  are  so  small  as  not  to  interfere  with  phrenolo- 
gical observations.  The  departure  from  perfect  parallelism,  where 
it  occurs,  is  hmited  to  a  line,  ^th  or  |th  of  an  inch,  according  to 
the  age  and  health  of  the  individual.  The  difference  in  develope- 
ment  between  a  large  and  a  small  organ  of  the  propensities  and 
some  of  the  sentiments,  amounts  to  an  inch  and  upwards  ;  and  to 
a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  the  organs  of  intellect,  which  are  naturally 
smaller  than  the  others. 

The  integuments  which  cover  the  skull  on  the  outside,  indis- 
putably lie  close  upon  its  surface,  and  are  so  completely  parallel,  as 
to  exhibit  its  true  figure.  Thus,  then,  there  is  no  obstacle  in  gen- 
eral to  the  discovery  of  the  figure  of  the  brain,  by  observations  on 
the  form  of  the  skull. 

This  doctrine  has  been  disputed  by  many  opponents  of  phrenol- 
ogy ;  but  the  greatest  anatomists  have  taught  it.  Magendie,  in  his 
Compendium  of  Physiology,  says,  that  "  the  only  way  of  estimat- 
ing the  volume  of  the  brain  in  a  living  person,  is  to  measure  the 
dimensions  of  the  skull ;  every  other  means,  even  that  proposed 
by  Camper,  is  uncertain." — JWilligan^s  Translation,  p.  104. 

Mr.  Charles  Bell  also  observes,  "  Thus,  we  find  that  the  bones 
of  the  head  are  moulded  to  the  brain,  and  the  peculiar  shapes  of  the 
bones  of  the  head  are  determined  by  the  original  pecuharity  in  the 
shape  of  the  brain.*     Dr.  Gordon,  also,  in  the  49th  Number  of 

*  Bell's  Anat.  ii.  390.  Mr.  Bell  adds  in  foot  note,  "  Certainly  the  skull  is  adapt- 
ed to  the  form  of  the  brain,  but  there  is  a  deeper  question,  which  our   craniolo- 
10 


74  OF  THE  INTEGUMENTS. 

the  Edinburgh  Review,  has  the  following  words  :  "  But  we  will 
acquiesce  implicitly  for  the  present  in  the  proposition  (familiar  to 
physiologists  long  before  the  age  of  Gall  and  Spurzheim) ,  that  there 
is,  in  most  Instances,  a  general  correspondence  between  the  size  of 
the  cranium  and  the  quantity  of  cerebrum  ;  that  large  heads  usually 
contain  large  brains,  and  small  heads  small  brains." — P.  246. 

There  are,  however,  cases  in  which  it  is  not  possible  to  dis- 
cover the  form  of  the  brain  by  examining  the  skull.  These  are 
instances  of  disease  and  old  age.  In  disease,  the  skull  may  be 
enlarged  or  diminished  in  volume,  by  causes  other  than  the 
developement  of  the  brain  ;  and  in  old  age,  the  inner  table  of  the 
skull  sometimes  sinks,  while  the  outer  table  preserves  its  original 
size;  in  such  individuals,  the  true  developement  of  the  brain  cannot 
be  accurately  inferred  from  the  developement  of  the  head. 

There  are  parts  at  the  base  of  the  brain,  in  the  middle  and 
posterior  regions,  the  size  of  which  cannot  be  discovered  during 
life,  and  whose  functions  in  consequence  are  still  unknown.  From 
analogy,  and  from  some  pathological  facts,  they  are  supposed 
to  be  the  organs  of  the  sensations  of  Hunger  and  Thirst,  Heat 
and  Cold,  and  of  some  other  mental  affections,  for  which  cerebral 
organs  have  not  been  discovered  ;  but  demonstrative  evidence 
to  this  effect  being  wanting,  this  conjecture  is  merely  stated  to 
incite  to  farther  investigation. 

The  sutures  also  interrupt  the  absolute  parallelism ;  but  their 
situation  is  known,  and  only  one  of  them,  called  the  Lambdoidal, 
where  it  passes  over  the  organ  of  Concentrativeness,  presents  any 

gists  have  forgotten, — Is  the  brain  constituted  in  shape  with  a  reference  to  the 
future  form  of  the  head?"  It  is  difficult  to  see  the  importance  of  this  question. 
Phrenologists  maintain  that,  de  facto,  at  every  period  previous  to  the  decline  of 
life,  the  skull  is  adapted  to  the  form  of  the  brain  ;  that  it  increases  in  size  when 
the  brain  enlarges,  and  decreases  when  it  diminishes.  I  have  seen  one  striking 
instance  of  the  skull  decreasing  with  the  brain  ;  it  occurred  in  an  individual  who 
died  at  the  age  of  thirty-two,  after  having  labored  under  chronic  insanity  for 
upwards  of  ten  years,  and  whose  mental  weakness  augmented  in  proportion  to 
the  diminution  of  his  brain  and  shrinking  of  the  skull.  The  diminution  of  his 
head  in  size  attracted  his  own  attention  during  life.  His  brain  was  dissected  by 
Dr.  A.  Combe  after  death. — See  this  case  fully  reported  in  the  Phrenological 
Journ.  vol.  iv.  495. 


SUTURES— FRONTAL  SINUS.  75 

difficulty  to  the  student.  The  sagittal  suture,  which  runs  longi 
tudinally  from  the  middle  of  the  crown  of  the  head  forwards  and 
downwards,  sometimes  so  low  as  the  top  of  the  nose,  occasionally 
presents  a  narrow  prominent  ridge,  which  is  sometimes  mistaken 
for  developeraent  of  the  organs  of  Benevolence,  Veneration,  Firm- 
ness, and  Self-esteem.  It  may,  however,  be  easily  distinguished 
by  its  narrowness  and  isolation,  from  the  full  broad  swell  of  cere- 
bral developement.  In  anatomy,  projecting  bony  points  are  called 
Processes.  The  mastoid  process  of  the  temporal  bone,  B  in  figure, 
p.  72.,  which  is  a  small  knob  immediately  behind  the  ear,  serving 
for  the  attachment  of  a  muscle,  is  sometimes  mistaken  for  the  indi- 
cation of  large  Combativeness.  It  is,  however,  merely  a  bony  pro- 
minence, and  is  to  be  found  in  every  head,  and  does  not  indicate 
developement  of  brain  at  all.  Another  process  C,  called  in  anat- 
omy the  spinous  process  of  the  transverse  ridge  of  the  occipital 
bone,  requires  to  be  known.  Phrenologists  generally  name  it 
shortly  the  occipital  spine,  and  its  situation  is  indicated  by  C  in 
the  figure,  p.  72. 

There  is  one  part  of  the  skull  where  the  external  configuration 
does  not  always  indicate  exactly  the  size  of  the  subjacent  parts  of 
the  brain,  and  upon  which  objections  have  been  raised,  viz.  at  the 
top  of  the  nose. 

THE    FRONTAL    SINUS. 


The  frontal  sinus  is  the   dark  hole  above  the  nose.     This  represents  it  in  one 
individual.     It  is  sometimes  larger  and  sometimes  smaller. 

At  the  part  of  the  frontal  bone  immediately  above  the  top  of  the 
nose,  a  divergence  from  parallelism  is  sometimes  produced  by  the 
existence  of  a  small  cavity  called  the  frontal  sinus.  It  is  formed 
between  the  two  plates  or  tables  of  the  bone,  either  by  the  external 
table  swelling  out  a  little,  without  being  followed  by  the  internal, 
and  presenting  an  appearance  like  that  of  a  blister  on  a  biscuit,  or 


76  FRONTAL    SINUS. 

by  the  internal  table  sinking  in  without  being  followed  by  the 
external ;  and  hence,  as  the  outer  surface  does  not  indicate  the 
precise  degree  of  developement  of  brain  beneath,  it  has  been 
argued  that  the  existence  of  a  frontal  sinus  is  an  insuperable  objec- 
tion to  Phrenology  in  general,  because  it  throws  so  much  uncer- 
tainty in  the  way  of  our  observations  as  completely  to  destroy  their 
value  ;  other  opponents,  however,  more  rationally,  confine  their 
objection  to  those  organs  only  over  which  the  sinus  extends. 

The  first  objection  is  manifestly  untenable.  Even  granting  the 
sinus  to  be  an  insuperable  obstacle  in  the  way  of  ascertaining  the 
developement  of  the  organs  over  which  it  is  situated,  it  may  be 
observed,  first^  That,  in  ordinary  cases,  it  interferes  with  only  a 
few,  viz.  Form,  Size,  Weight,  Individuality,  and  Locality  ;  and, 
2dly^  It  cannot  interfere  with  the  other  thiity  or  thirty-one  organs, 
the  whole  external  appearances  of  which  it  leaves  as  unaltered  as 
if  it  did  not  at  all  exist.  It  would  be  quite  as  logical  to  speak  of  a 
snow-storm  in  Norway  obstructing  the  high  road  from  Edinburgh 
to  London,  as  of  a  small  sinus  at  the  top  of  the  nose  concealing 
the  developements  of  Benevolence,  Firmness,  or  Veneration,  on 
the  crown  of  the  head. 

To  enable  the  reader  to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  the  value  of 
the  objection  as  applicable  to  the  individual  organs  particularly  refer- 
red to,  I  subjoin  a  few  observations.  In  the  first  place.  Below 
the  age  of  twelve  or  fourteen,  the  sinus,  if  it  exists  at  all,  rarely 
extends  so  high  as  the  base  of  the  brain  ;  2dly^  In  adult  age,  it  fre- 
quently occurs  to  the  extent  above  admitted  ;*  and,  Qdly^  In  old 
age,  and  in  disease,  as  chronic  idiocy  and  insanity,  it  is  often  of 
very  great  extent,  owing  to  the  brain  diminishing  in  size,  and  the 
inner  table  of  the  skull  following  it,  while  the  outer  remains  station- 

*  This  may  seem  at  variance  with  a  statement  given  in  the  first  edition  of  this 
Tvork,  on  the  authority  of  a  friend  in  Paris,  who,  in  the  course  of  many  months' 
dissections,  had  never  found  a  frontal  sinus  except  in  old  age  and  in  disease.  In 
■sawing  open  the  skull  for  anatomical  purposes,  the  section  is  almost  always  made 
horizontally  through  the  middle  of  the  forehead,  or  over  the  urgans  of  Tune, 
Time,  and  Eventuality;  and  in  all  the  cases  alluded  to  by  the  gentleman  in  Paris, 
this  line  was  followed,  and  as  the  sinus  rarely  extends  so  high  up,  he  could  not, 
and  did  not,  meet  with  it.  On  examining  vertical  sections,  however,  for  the 
purpose  of  seeing  the  sinus,  he  has  since  frequently  found  it  to  the  extent 
mentioned  in  the  text. 


FRONTAL    SINUS.  77 

ary.  Now,  the  first  cases  present  no  objection,  for  in  them  the 
sinus  does  not  exist  so  as  to  interfere  with  the  observation  of  the 
size  of  the  brain;  the  third  are  instances  of  disease,  which  are 
uniformly  excluded  in  phrenological  observations;  and  thus  our 
attention  is  limited  solely  to  the  cases  forming  the  second  class. 
In  regard  to  them  the  objection  is,  that  large  developement  oi 
brain,  and  large  frontal  sinus,  present  so  nearly  the  same  appear- 
ance that  we  cannot  be  sure  which  is  which,  and,  therefore,  that 
our  observations  must  be  inconclusive. 

To  this  the  following  answer  is  given  : — 1st,  We  must  distin- 
guish betvi^een  the  possibility  of  discovering  the  functions  of  an 
organ,  and  of  applying  this  discovery  practically  in  all  cases,  so 
as  to  be  able,  in  every  instance,  to  predicate  the  exact  degrees  in 
which  every  particular  mental  power  is  present  in  each  individual. 
The  sinus  does  not  in  general  extend  as  high  as  the  base  of  the 
brain  until  after  the  age  of  twelve  or  fourteen,  before  which  is  pre- 
cisely the  period  when  Individuality  is  most  conspicuously  active 
in  the  mind.  If,  then,  in  children,  in  whom  no  sinus  exists,  that 
mental  power  is  observed  to  be  strong  when  the  part  of  the  head 
is  large,  and  weak  when  it  is  small,  we  ascertain  the  function, 
whatever  may  subsequently  embarrass  us.  If,  in  after-life,  the 
sinus  comes  to  exist,  this  throws  a  certain  impediment  in  the  way 
of  the  practical  application  of  our  knowledge ;  and,  accordingly, 
phrenologists  admit  a  difficulty  in  determining  the  exact  degree  of 
mental  power,  which,  in  adult  age,  will  accompany  any  particular 
developement  of  the  organs  lying  immediately  above  the  top  of  the 
nose,  except  in  extreme  instances,  in  which  even  the  sinus  itself 
will  form  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  difference  between  great  devel- 
opement and  deficiency.  In  the  next  place,  the  objection  applies 
only  to  one  set  of  cases.  If  there  be  a  hollow  or  depression  in  the 
external  surface  of  the  skull  at  the  situation  of  the  organs  in  ques- 
tion, and  the  sinus  be  absent,  then  the  organ  must  necessarily  be 
deficient  in  proportion  to  the  depression.  If,  with  such  an  exter- 
nal appearance,  the  sinus  be  present,  which  is  not  generally  the 
case,  but  which,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  I  shall  suppose,  then 
it  must  be  formed  by  the  inner  table  receding  more  than  the  outer 
table  ;  and  hence  a  greater  deficiency  of  organ  will  actually  exist 


78  FRONTAL  SINUS. 

than  is  externally  indicated  ;  and,  of  course,  the  deficiency  of  men- 
tal power  will  be  at  least  equal  to  the  external  indication  of  defi- 
ciency in  the  organ.  In  cases  of  this  kind,  therefore,  the  sinus 
forms  no  objection.  Thus  the  only  instances  in  which  it  can  occa- 
sion embarrassment  are  those  in  which  it  causes  a  swelling  of  the 
parts  of  the  skull  in  question  outward,  to  which  there  is  no  corres- 
ponding developement  of  brain  within.  Now  if,  in  all  cases  in 
youth,  when  no  sinus  exists,  and  in  all  cases  in  mature  age  in  which 
a  depression  is  found,  the  mental  power  is  ascertained  to  corres- 
pond with  the  external  developement ;  and  if,  in  certain  cases,  in 
adult  age,  an  external  indication  appears  to  which  the  mental  power 
does  not  correspond,  what  conclusion  falls  to  be  drawn  according 
to  the  rules  of  a  correct  logic?  Not  that  the  functions  of  the  parts 
are  uncertain ;  because  they  have  been  ascertained  in  cases  not 
liable  to  impediment  or  objection;  but  only  that,  in  the  particular 
cases  in  mature  age,  in  which  the  external  developement  is  large, 
and  the  corresponding  power  absent,  there  must  be  a  frontal  sinus. 
Finally,  by  practice  in  observing,  it  is  possible,  in  general,  to 
distinguish  between  external  appearances  produced  by  frontal  sinus, 
and  those  indicating  a  large  developement  of  organs.  In  the  first 
instance,  the  forms  of  the  elevations  are  irregular;  in  the  second, 
they  are  symmetrical,  and  correspond  to  the  shapes  of  the  organs 
delineated  on  the  busts. 

If,  then,  men  in  general  manifest  their  true  and  natural  senti- 
ments and  capacities  in  their  actions  ;  and  if,  in  healthy  individuals, 
the  form  of  the  brain  may  be  discovered,  by  observing  the  figure 
of  the  head,  it  follows  that  the  true  faculties,  and  the  true  develope- 
ment, may  be  compared  in  living  subjects  ;  and,  on  these  grounds, 
the  proposition  is  established,  That  the  Phrenological  mode  of 
philosophizing  is  competent  to  enable  us  to  attain  the  results 
sought  for. 

PRACTICAL  APPLICATION  OF  THE    PRINCIPLES  OF    PHRENOLOGY. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned,  that  there  are  two  hemispheres 
of  the  brain,  corresponding  in  form   and  functions.     There  are. 


APPLICATION  OF  PRINCIPLES.  79 

therefore,  two  organs  for  each  mental  power  ;  one  in  each  hemis- 
phere. Each  organ  extends  from  the  medulla  oblongata,  or  top  of 
the  spinal  marrow,  to  the  surface  of  the  brain  or  cerebellum;  and 
every  individual  possesses  all  the  organs  in  a  greater  or  lesser 
degree.  When  the  two  organs  of  a  faculty  are  situated  immedi- 
ately on  the  sides  of  the  middle  Hne  separating  the  hemispheres, 
they  are  included  in  one  space  on  the  busts  and  plates.  To  save 
circumlocution,  the  expression,  "  organ  "  of  a  faculty  will  be  used, 
but  both  organs  will  be  thereby  meant. 

The  brain  is  not  divided  by  lines  corresponding  to  those  delin- 
eated on  the  busts;  but  the  forms  assumed  by  its  different  parts, 
when  extremely  large  or  small,  exactly  resemble  those  there  repre- 
sented. Each  part  is  inferred  to  be  a  separate  organ;  because  its 
size,  ceteris  paribus,  bears  a  regular  proportion  to  the  energy  of  a 
particular  mental  power. 

As  size,  cceteris  paribus,  is  a  measure  of  power,*  the  first 
object  ought  to  be  to  distinguish  the  size  of  the  brain  generally,  so 
as  to  judge  whether  it  be  large  enough  to  admit  of  manifestations 
of  ordinary  vigor;  for  if  it  be  too  small,  idiocy  is  an  invariable 
consequence.  The  second  object  should  be  to  ascertain  the 
relative  proportions  of  the  different  parts,  so  as  to  determine 
the  direction  in  which  the  power  is  greatest. 

It  is  proper  to  begin  with  observation  of  the  more  palpable  dif- 
ferences in  size,  and  particularly  to  attend  to  the  relative  propor- 
tions of  the  different  lobes.  The  size  of  the  anterior  lobe  is  the 
measure  of  intellect.  In  the  brain  it  is  easily  distinguished,  and  in 
the  living  head  it  is  indicated  by  the  portion  lying  before  Construc- 
tiveness  and  Benevolence.  Sometimes  the  lower  part  of  the  fron- 
tal lobe,  connected  with  the  perceptive  faculties,  is  the  largest,  and 
this  is  indicated  by  the  line  before  Constructiveness,  extending 
farthest  out  at  the  base;  sometimes  the  upper  part,  connected  with 
the  reflecting  powers,  is  the  most  amply  developed,  which  occurs 
when  the  line  extends  farthest  in  the  upper  region;  sometimes  both 
are  equally  developed.  The  student  is  particularly  requested  to 
resort  invariably  to  this  mode  of  estimating  the  size  of  the  anterior 
*See  Introduction,  p.  22,  23,  24,  &c. 


80 


REGIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN. 


lobe,  as  the  best  for  avoiding  mistakes.  In  some  individuals,  and 
in  some  Peruvian  skulls  in  particular,  the  forehead  is  tolerably- 
perpendicular,  so  that,  seen  in  front,  and  judged  of  without  attend- 
ing to  depth,  it  appears  to  be  largely  developed ;  whereas,  when 
viewed  in  the  way  now  pointed  out,  it  is  seen  to  be  extremely 
shallow;  in  other  words,  the  mass  is  not  large,  and  the  intellectual 
manifestations  will  be  proportionately  feeble. 

The  posterior  lobe  is  devoted  chiefly  to  the  animal  propensities. 
In  the  brain  its  size  is  easily  distinguished;  and  in  the  living  head 
a  line  may  be  drawn  perpendicularly  to  the  mastoid  process,  and  all 
behind  will  belong  to  the  posterior  lobe.  Wherever  this  and  the 
basilar  region  are  large,  the  animal  feelings  will  be  strong,  and 
vice  versa. 

The  coronal  region  of  the  brain  is  the  seat  of  the  moral  senti- 
ments; and  its  size  may  be  estimated  by  the  extent  of  elevation 
and  expansion  of  the  head  above  the  organs  of  Causality  in  the 
forehead,  and  of  Cautiousness  in  the  middle  of  the  parietal  bones. 
When  the  whole  region  of  the  brain  rising  above  these  organs  is 
shallow  or  narrow,  the  moral  feelings  will  be  weakly  manifested ; 
when  high  and  expanded,  they  will  be  vigorouslv  displayed. 


PROFILE  OP  BURKE. 


REGIONS  OF  THE  BRAIN. 


81 


PROFILE  OF  REV.  MR 


All  that  lies  before  line  AA  is  the  anterior  lobe,  or  organs  of  the  intellectual 
faculties.  It  is  larger  in  the  Reverend  Mr.  M.  than  in  the  other  two  The 
space  above  the  horizontal  dotted  line  B  marks  the  region  of  the  moral 
sentiments :  The  space  fron  A  backwards,  below  B,  indicates  the  region 
of  the  propensities,  which  in  Burke  and  Hare  is  much  larger  in  proportion 
to  the  size  of  the  moral  and  intellectual  regions  than  in  the  Rei^erend  Mr.  M. 
11 


82  APPLICATION  OF  PRINCIPLES. 

These  figures  were  drawn  by  Mr.  Joseph,  by  the  Camera  lucida,  from  casts 
from  nature.  If  deduction  be  made  for  the  thickness  of  the  integuments  and 
skull  in  all  the  three,  the  proportion  of  the  moral  regions  in  Burke  and  Hare 
to  the  R,nimal  region  will  be  very  small. 

By  observing  the  proportions  of  the  different  regions,  it  will  be 
discovered,  that,  in  some  instances,  the  greater  mass  of  the  brain 
lies  between  the  ear  and  the  forehead  ;  in  others  between  the  ear 
and  the  occiput ;  and  in  others  above  the  ear  in  perpendicular 
height.  Great  differences  in  breadth  are  also  remarkable  ;  some 
heads  being  narrow  throughout,  and  some  broad.  Some  are  nar- 
row before,  and  broad  behind,  and  vice  versa.  The  busts  of  the 
Reverend  Mr.  M.,  Mary  Macinnes,  Pallet,  and  Haggart,  may  be 
contrasted  with  this  view.* 

After  becoming  familiar  with  the  general  size  and  configuration 
of  heads,  the  student  may  proceed  to  the  observation  of  individual 
organs;  and,  in  studying  them,  the  real  dimensions,  including  both 
length  and  breadth,  and  not  the  mere  prominence  of  each  organ, 
should  be  looked  for. 

In  estimating  the  size  of  the  organs,  both  length  and  breadth 
must  be  attended  to.  The  length  of  an  organ  is  ascertained  by 
the  distance  from  the  medulla  oblongata  to  the  peripheral  surface. 
A  line  passing  through  the  head  from  one  ear  to  the  other,  would 
nearly  touch  the  medulla  oblongata,  and  hence  the  external  open- 
ing of  the  ear  is  assumed  as  a  convenient  point  from  which  to  esti- 
mate length.  The  breadth  of  an  organ  is  judged  of  by  its  peri- 
pheral expansion  ;  and  it  is  a  general  law  of  physiology,  that  the 
breadth  of  any  organ  throughout  its  whole  course,  bears  a  relation 
to  its  expansion  at  the  surface  :  the  optic  and  olfactory  nerves  are 
examples  in  point.  It  has  been  objected  that  the  breadth  of  the 
organs  cannot  be  ascertained,  because  the  boundaries  of  them  are 
not  sufficiently  determinate. 

In  answer,  I  observe,  that  although  the  boundaries  of  the  differ- 
ent organs  cannot  be  determined  with  mathematical  precision,  like 
those  of  a  triangle,  a  square,  or  rhomboid  ;  yet,  in  a  single  case, 
an  accurate  observer  may  make  a  very  near  approximation  to  the 

*  The  Casts  and  Skulls,  referred  to  in  the  subsequent  pages,  will  soon  be  for 
sale  by  the  publishers,  M.  C.  &  L. 


LENGTH  AND  BREADTH  OF  ORGANS.  83 

truth  ;  and,  in  a  great  multitude  of  cases,  the  very  doctrine  of 
chances,  and  of  the  compensation  of  errors,  must  satisfy  any  one 
that  these  boundaries  may  be  defined  with  sufficient  precision  for 
all  practical  purposes.  Even  in  the  exact  sciences  themselves,  an 
approximate  solution  is  frequently  all  that  is  attainable  ;  and  if  the 
opponents  would  only  make  themselves  masters  of  the  binomial 
theorem,  or  pay  a  little  attention  to  the  expansion  of  infinite  series, 
they  would  not  persist  in  calling  for  a  degree  of  accuracy  which  is 
impossible,  or  in  neglecting  an  important  element  in  a  calculation, 
because  it  is  involved  in  a  certain  liability  to  error  within  very 
narrow  limits.  The  absurdity  of  the  reason  assigned  for  this  omis- 
sion, is  rendered  still  more  apparent  by  the  case  of  the  prismatic 
spectrum,  which  I  conceive  to  be  exactly  in  point.  Now,  what 
is  it  that  this  beautiful  phenomenon  displays.''  The  seven  primary 
colors,  arranged  in  a  peculiar  order,  and  glowing  with  an  almost 
painful  intensity.  But  each  of  these  colors  occupies  a  certain 
space  in  relation  to  the  whole,  the  boundaries  of  which  it  may  be 
impossible  for  the  hand  or  eye  to  trace  with  geometrical  precision, 
although  the  relative  space  in  question  has  nevertheless  been  made 
the  "subject  of  measurement,  and  a  very  close  approximation  ob- 
tained from  the  mean  of  a  vast  number  of  trials.  According  to  the 
principle  followed  by  some  antiphrenologists,  however,  breadth 
should  be  altogether  neglected,  because  the  boundaries  of  the  res- 
pective colors  are,  forsooth,  "  purely  ideal,"  as  if  a  mathematical 
line  were  not  the  most  perfect  idealism  or  abstraction  which  the 
mind  of  man  can  possibly  form.  This  idealism  or  abstraction, 
however,  has  no  more  to  do  with  those  approximations  which  may 
be  obtained  practically  by  repeated  trials,  than  the  mathematical 
definition  of  a  line  with  a  metallic  rod  ;  and  it  is  a  mere  quibble  to 
pretend,  for  example,  that  we  ought  not  to  measure  the  length  of 
the  rod,  because  it  may  not  correspond  with  the  definition  of  the 
line.  Upon  the  strange  principle  which  some  opponents  have 
adopted,  they  must  be  prepared  to  maintain,  that  the  boundaries  of 
a  hill  or  hillock  are  purely  ideal,  and  depend  in  every  instance  on 
the  fancy  of  the  measurer.* 

*  Caledonian  Mercury,  11th  June,  1829. 


84  APPLICATION  OF  PRINCIPLES. 

The  science  of  Geology  affords  another  illustration.  The  lead- 
ing rocks  bear  so  many  characteristic  marks  of  distinction,  that 
no  ordinary  observer  can  mistake  them,  yet  particular  specimens 
approach  the  same  standard  so  nearly  that  the  most  skilful  observers 
Vv^ill  sometimes  err,  and  believe  basalt  to  be  clay-stone,  or  gneiss 
granite.  In  teaching  this  science,  however,  the  leading  features 
of  the  rocks  are  found  sufficient  to  guide  the  student  to  knowledge 
of  the  principles  ;  and  his  own  sagacity,  improved  by  experience, 
enables  him  in  due  time  to  deal  successfully  with  the  intricacies 
and  difficulties  of  the  study.  The  same  rule  ought  to  be  followed 
in  cultivating  phrenology. 

An  organ  may  thus  be  likened  to  an  inverted  cone,  with  its  apex 
in  the  medulla,  and  its  base  at  the  surface  of  the  brain  ;  the  broader 
the  base  and  longer  the  distance  between  it  and  the  apex,  the 
greater  will  be  the  size,  or  the  quantity  of  matter  which  it  will 
contain.*  This  simile,  however,  is  introduced  merely  as  an 
illustration,  and  I  do  not  assert  that  the  organs  may  be  seen  regu- 
larly disposed  in  the  brain  in  the  shape  of  cones.  Hence,  if  the 
line  from  the  ear  to  the  forehead  be  much  larger  than  from  the 
ear  backward,  and  the  breadth  nearly  the  same,  we  infer  that  the 

*"  There  are  many  convolutions,"  says  Dr.  Spurzheim,  "in  the  middle  line 
between  the  two  hemispheres  of  the  brain,  and  others  at  the  basis  and  between 
the  anterior  and  middle  lobes,  which  do  not  appear  on  the  surface ;  but  it  seems 
to  me  that  a  great  part,  at  least,  of  every  organ  does  present  itself  there,  and 
further,  that  all  the  parts  of  each  organ  are  equally  developed,  so  that,  though  a 
portion  only  appear,  the  state  of  the  whole  may  be  inferred.  The  whole  cerebel- 
lum does  not  reach  the  skull,  yet  its  functions  may  be  determined  from  the  part 
which  does.  The  cerebral  parts,  situated  in  the  middle  line  between  the  hemis- 
pheres, seem  proportionate  to  the  superincumbent  convolutions  ;  at  least  I  have 
always  observed  a  proportion  in  the  vertical  direction  between  them." — Phre- 
nology, p.  121. 

The  cerebral  parts,  situated  around  "  and  behind  the  orbit,  also  require  some 
care  and  experience  on  the  part  of  the  phrenologist,  to  be  judged  of  accurately. 
Their  developement  is  discoverable  from  the  position  of  the  eye-ball,  and  from 
the  figure  of  the  superciliary  ridge.  According  as  the  eye-ball  is  prominent  or 
hidden  in  the  orbit,  depressed  or  pushed  sideward,  inward,  or  outward,  we  may 
judge  of  the  developement  of  the  organs  situated  around  and  behind  it." — Ihid. 
Particular  directions  for  observing  the  parts  there  situated  will  be  given,  when 
treating  of  the  relative  organs. 


PHRENOLOGICAL  BUST.  85 

organs  in  the  forehead  predominate.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
forehead  be  very  narrow,  as  in  Thurtell,  and  the  hindhead  very 
broad,  we  hold  the  posterior  organs  to  predominate,  although  the 
length  be  the  same  in  both  directions. 

The  whole  organs  in  a  head  should  be  examined,  and  their  rela- 
tive proportions  noted.  Errors  may  be  committed  at  first ;  but 
without  practice,  there  will  be  no  expertness.  Practice,  with  at 
least  an  average  endowment  of  the  organs  of  Form,  Size,  and 
Locality,  are  necessary  to  qualify  a  person  to  make  observations 
with  success.  Individuals  whose  heads  are  very  narrow  between 
the  eyes,  and  little  developed  at  the  top  of  the  nose,  where  these 
organs  are  placed,  experience  great  difficulty  in  distinguishing  the 
situations  and  minute  shades  in  the  proportions  of  different  organs. 
(See  Note  as  to  Dr.  Gall,  No.  I.  of  Appendix.)  If  one  organ  be 
much  developed,  and  the  neighbormg  organs  very  little,  the  devel- 
oped organ  will  present  an  elevation  or  protuberance  ;  but  if  the 
neighboring  organs  be  developed  in  proportion,  no  protuberance 
can  be  perceived,  and  the  surface  is  smooth.  The  student  should 
learn  from  books,  plates,  and  casts,  or  personal  instruction  (and 
the  last  is  by  far  the  best,)  to  distinguish  the  form  of  each  organ, 
and  its  appearance,  when  developed  in  different  proportions  to  the 
others,  because  there  are  slight  modifications  in  the  position  of 
them  in  each  head. 

The  phrenological  bust  shows  the  situations  of  the  organs,  and 
their  proportions,  only  in  one  head  ;  and  it  is  impossible  by  it  to 
communicate  more  information.*     The  different  appearances  in  all 

*  Attempts  have  been  mado  by  opponents  to  represent  certain  changes,  in  the 
numbering  and  marking  of  the  organs  in  busts  recently  published,  as  "  a  Revolu- 
tion in  Phrenology."  A  brief  explanation  will  place  this  matter  in  its  true  light. 
The  phrenological  bust  sold  in  the  shops  is  an  artificial  head,  the  utihty  of  which 
depends  on  the  degree  in  which  the  delineation  of  the  organs  on  it  approaches 
to  the  appearances  most  generally  presented  by  the  organs  in  nature.  The  first 
bust  sold  in  this  country  exhibited  the  organs  as  they  would  be  found  in  a  partic- 
ular head,  not  very  common  in  this  country,  the  bust  having  been  imported  from 
the  Continent,  and  national  heads  being  modified  as  much  as  national  features. 
On  1st  October,  1824,  a  new  bust  was  published  in  Edinburgh,  in  which  the  delin- 
eation approached  nearer  to  the  appearance  and  relative  proportions  presented 
by  the  organs  in  this  country.     Subsequent  observations  showed  that  this  bust 


86  APPLICATION  OF  PRINCIPLES. 

the  varieties  of  relative  size,  mu-st  be  discovered  by  inspecting 
a  number  of  heads  ;  and  especially  by  contrasting  instances  of 
extreme  developement  with  others  of  extreme  deficiency.  No 
adequate  idea  of  the  foundation  of  the  science  can  be  formed 
until  this  is  done.  In  cases  of  extreme  size  of  single  organs, 
the  form  delineated  in  the  bust  is  distinctly  perceived. 

The  question  will  perhaps  occur,  If  the  relative  proportions  of 
the  organs  differ  in  each  individual,  and  if  the  phrenological  bust 
represents  only  their  most  common  proportions^  how  are  their 
boundaries  to  be  distinguished  in  any  particular  living  head  ?    The 

might  be  brought  still  more  closely  to  resemble  the  most  common  proportions  of 
the  organs  in  Britain  ;  and,  on  1st  April,  1829,  certain  modifications  were  made  on 
it  accordingly.  Tlie  nature  of  this  operation  may  be  explained  by  a  simple  illus- 
tration. Suppose  that,  in  1819,  an  artist  had  modelled  a  bust,  resembling,  as 
closely  as  his  skill  could  reach,  the  face  most  commonly  met  with  in  Scotland, 
and  that,  to  save  the  trouble  of  referring  to  the  different  features  by  name,  he  had 
attached  numbers  to  them,  beginning  at  the  chin,  and  calling  it  No.  1.,  and  so 
on  up  to  the  brow,  which  we  may  suppose  to  be  No.  33.  In  this  bust  he  would 
necessarily  give  certain  proportions  to  the  eyes,  nose,  cheek,  mouth,  and  chin.  But 
suppose  he  were  to  continue  his  observations  for  five  years,  it  is  quite  conceivable 
he  might  come  to  be  of  opinion  that,  by  making  the  nose  a  little  shorter,  the 
mouth  a  little  longer,  the  cheeks  a  little  broader,  and  the  chin  a  little  sharper,  he 
could  bring  the  artificial  face  nearer  to  the  most  general  form  of  the  Scottish  coun- 
tenance ;  and  that  he  might  arrange  the  numbers  of  the  features  with  greater 
philosophical  accuracy;  and  suppose  he  were  to  publish  a  new  edition  of  his 
bust  with  these  modifications  of  the  features,  and  with  the  numeration  changed 
so  that  the  mouth  should  be  No.  1.,  and  the  chin  No.  5.,  and  the  brow  No.  35., 
what  should  we  tliink  of  a  critic  who  should  announce  these  alterations  as 
"  a  revolution  "  in  human  physiognomy,  and  assert  that,  because  the  numbers 
were  changed,  the  nose  had  obliterated  the  eyes,  and  the  chin  had  extinguished  the 
mouth  ?  This  is  what  the  opponents  have  done  in  regard  to  the  new  phrenolo- 
gical bust.  In  the  modifications  which  have  been  made  on  it,  the  essential  forms 
and  relative  situations  of  all  the  organs  have  been  preserved,  and  there  is  no 
instance  of  the  organ  of  Benevolence  being  turned  into  that  of  Veneration,  or 
Veneration  into  Hope,  any  more  than,  in  the  supposed  new  modelled  face,  the 
nose  would  be  converted  into  the  eyes,  or  the  eyes  into  the  mouth. 

In  regard  to  the  numeration,  again,  the  changes  are  exactly  analogous  to  those 
which  are  before  supposed  to  take  place  in  regard  to  the  features  :  The  organ  of 
ideality  formerly  was  numbered  16,  and  now  it  is  numbered  19,  but  the  organ 
and  function  are  nothing  different  on  this  account.  Dr.  Spurzheim  adopted  a 
new  order  of  numbering,  from  enlarged  observation  of  the  anatomical  relation  of 
the  organs,  and  his  improvements  have  been  adopted  in  Edinburgh  and  Dublin 


FORMS  OF  ORGANS.  87 

answer  is,  By  their  forms  and  appearances.  Each  organ  has  a 
form,  appearance,  and  situation,  which  it  is  possible,  by  practice, 
to  distinguish,  in  the  Uving  head,  otherwise  Phrenology  cannot 
have  any  foundation. 

When  one  organ  is  very  largely  developed,  it  encroaches  on  the 
space  usually  occupied  by  the  neighboring  organs,  the  relative 
situations  of  which  are  thereby  slightly  altered.  When  this  occurs, 
it  naay  be  distinguished  by  the  greatest  prominence  being  near  the 
centre  of  the  large  organ,  and  the  svv^elling  extending  over  a  portion 
only  of  the  other.  In  these  cases  the  shape  should  be  attended 
to;  for  the  form  of  the  organ  is  then  easily  recognised,  and  is  a  sure 
indication  of  the  particular  one  which  is  largely  developed.  The 
observer  should  learn,  by  inspecting  a  skull,  to  distinguish  the 
mastoid  process  behind  the  ear,  as  also  bony  excrescences  some- 
times formed  by  the  sutures,  several  bony  prominences  which 
occur  in  every  head,  from  elevations  produced  by  developement 
of  brain. 

In  observing  the  appearance  of  individual  organs,  it  is  proper  to 
begin  with  the  largest,  and  select  extreme  cases.  The  mask  of 
Mr.  Joseph  Hume  i^ay  be  contrasted  with  that  of  Dr.  Chalmers 
for  Ideality  ;  the  organ  being  much  larger  in  the  latter  than  in  the 
former.  The  casts  of  the  skulls  of  Raphael  and  Haggart  may  be 
compared  at  the  same  part ;  the  difference  being  equally  conspic- 
uous. .The  cast  of  the  Reverend  Mr.  M.  may  be  contrasted  with 
that  of  Dempsey,  in  the  Love  of  Approbation  ;  the  former  having 
this  organ  large,  and  the  latter  small.  Self-Esteem  in  the  latter 
being  exceedingly  large,  may  be  compared  with  the  same  organ  in 
the  skull  of  Dr.  Hette,  in  whom  Love  of  Approbation  is  much 
larger  than  Self-Esteem.  The  organ  of  Constructiveness  in  Ra- 
phael may  be  compared  with  the  same  organ  in  the  New  Holland 
skulls.  Destructiveness  in  Bellingham  may  be  compared  with  the 
same  organ  in  the  skulls  of  the  Hindoos  ;  the  latter  people  being  in 
general  tender  of  life.  Firmness  large,  and  Conscientiousness  defi- 
cient, in  King  Robert  Bruce,  may  be  compared  with  the  same 
organs  reversed  in  the  cast  of  the  head  of  a  lady  (Mrs.  H.),  which 
is  sold    as    illustrative  of  these  organs. 


«8  APPLICATION  OF  PRINCIPLES. 

these  contrasts  is  to  obtain  an  idea  of  the  different  appearances 
presented  by  organs,  when  very  large  and  very  small. 

The  terms  used  to  denote  the  gradations  of  size  in  the  different 
organs,  in  an  increasing  ratio,  are 


Very  small 

Moderate 

Rather  large 

Small 

Rather  full 

Large 

Rather  small 

Full 

Very  Large. 

Captain  Ross  has  suggested,  that  numerals  may  be  applied  with 
advantage  to  the  notation  of  developement.  He  uses  decimals  ; 
but  these  appear  unnecessarily  minute.  The  end  in  view  may  be 
attained  by  such  a  scale  as  the  following  : 


1. 

8.  Rather  small 

15. 

2.  Idiocy 

9. 

16.  Rather  large 

3. 

10.  Moderate 

17. 

4.  Very  small 

11. 

18.  Large 

5. 

12.  Rather  fall. 

19. 

6.  Small 

13. 

20.  Very  large. 

7. 

14.  Full 

The  intermediate  figures  denote  intermediate  degrees  of  size, 
for  which  we  have  no  names.  The  advantage  of  adopting  numerals 
would  be,  that  the  values  of  the  extremes  being  known,  we  could 
judge  accurately  of  the  dimensions  denoted  by  the  intermediate 
numbers  ;  whereas  it  is  difficult  to  apprehend  precisely  the  degrees 
of  magnitude  indicated  by  the  terms  small,  full,  large,  &c.  unless 
we  have  seen  them  applied  by  the  individual  who  lises  them. 

The  terms  small,  moderate,  full,  &c.  indicate  the  relative  pro- 
portions of  the  organs  to  each  other  in  the  same  head  ;  but  as  the 
different  organs  may  bear  the  same  proportions  in  a  small  and  in  a 
large  head,  these  terms  do  not  enable  the  reader  to  discover, 
whether  the  head  treated  of  be  in  its  general  magnitude  small,  mod- 
erate, or  large.  To  supply  this  information,  measurements  by  cal- 
lipers are  resorted  to  ;  but  these  are  used  not  to  indicate  the  dimen- 
sions of  particular  organs,  for  which  purpose  they  are  not  adapted, 
but  merely  to  designate  the  general  size  of  the  head. 


TERiMS  DENOTING  SIZE. 


80 


The  following  are  a  few  measurements  from  nature  taken  pro- 
miscuously from  many  more  in  my  possession. 


Table  of  Jlleasurements  by  Callipe 


Males 

between 

25 

and 

50. 

3.i 
pi 

u 

OS 

B 

From  Ear  to  In- 
dividuality. 

5 

111 
III 

^3 

.2-2 

li 

III 

u 

11 

1. 

71 

41 

4i 

51 

51 

51 

51 

2. 

6| 

31 

41 

51 

51 

51 

41 

3. 

8| 

41 

51 

61 

61 

6 

51 

4. 

71 

4 

5 

51 

6 

51 

51 

5. 

8 

4^ 

51 

61 

61 

6 

51 

6. 

8 

41 

4| 

51 

51 

51 

51 

7. 

71 

41 

41 

51 

61 

51 

51 

8. 

71 

41 

4| 

51 

51 

51 

51 

9. 

71 

41 

41 

6 

51 

51 

51 

10. 

81 

5 

51 

51 

61 

51 

51 

11. 

71 

41 

5 

51 

51 

51 

41 

12. 

71 

4i 

5 

6 

51 

51 

41 

13. 

71 

4| 

4| 

51 

51 

51 

51 

14. 

7| 

3i 

41 

51 

61 

51 

5 

15. 

7| 

4| 

4| 

61 

6 

6 

5 

16. 

7i 

41 

51 

6 

61 

51 

51 

17. 

7g 

41 

51 

61 

61 

61 

51 

18. 

7^ 

4| 

5 

5i 

51 

51 

41 

19. 

8 

41 

5| 

61 

6 

6 

41 

20. 

Total  di- 
vided by 
20  gives 

7 

4i 

4| 

51 

5| 

51 

4|    ■ 

151| 

861 

99| 

118| 

119| 

1131 

1031 

Ui 

41 

4i 

5i 

CIS 
^25 

5i 

51. 

average. 

^ 

These  measurements  are  taken  above  the  muscular  integuments, 
and  show  the  sizes  of  the  different  heads  in  these  directions  ;  but  1 
repeat  that  they  are  not  given  as  indications  of  the  dimensions  of 

12 


90  APPLICATION  OF  PRINCIPLES. 

any  particular  organs.  The  callipers  are  not  suited  for  giving  this 
latter  information,  for  they  do  not  measure  length  from  the  medulla 
oblongata,  nor  do  they  indicate  breadth,  both  of  which  dimensions 
must  be  attended  to,  in  estimating  the  size  of  individual  organs. 
The  new  craniometer  is  preferable  for  ascertaining  length,  and  the 
breadth  may  be  judged  of  by  means  of  the  hand  or  eye.  The 
average  of  these  twenty  heads  will  be  higher  than  that  of  the  natives 
of  Britain  generally,  because  there  are  several  large  heads  among 
them,  and  none  small. 

It  ought  to  be  kept  constantly  in  view,  in  the  practical  application 
of  Phrenology,  that  it  is  the  size  of  each  organ  in  proportion  to  the 
others  in  the  head  of  the  individual  observed,  and  not  their  abso- 
lute size,  or  their  size  in  reference  to  any  standard  head,  that  de- 
termines the  predominance  in  him  of  particular  talents  or  dispo- 
sitions. Thus,  in  the  head  of  Bellingham,  Destructiveness  is  very 
large,  and  the  organs  of  the  moral  sentiments  and  intellect  are  small 
in  proportion  ;  and  according  to  the  rule,  that,  cczteris  paribus,  size 
determines  energy,  Bellingham's  most  powerful  tendencies  are 
inferred  to  have  been  towards  cruelty  and  rage.  In  the  skulls  of 
several  Hindoos,  the  organ  of  Destructiveness  is  small  in  propor- 
tion to  the  others,  and  we  conclude,  that  the  tendency  of  such 
individuals  would  be  weakest  towards  the  foregoing  passions.  But 
in  the  head  of  Gordon,  the  murderer  of  the  pedlar  boy,  the  absolute 
size  of  Destructiveness  is  less  than  in  the  head  of  Raphael  ;  yet 
Raphael  was  an  amiable  man  of  genius,  and  Gordon  an  atrocious 
murderer.  This  illustrates  the  rule,  that  we  ought  not  to  judge  by 
absolute  size.  In  Gordon,  the  organs  of  the  moral  sentiments  and 
intellectual  faculties  are  small  in  proportion  to  that  of  Destructive- 
ness, which  is  the  largest  in  the  brain;  while  in  Raphael,  the  moral 
and  intellectual  organs  are  large  in  proportion  to  Destructiveness. 
On  the  foregoing  principle,  the  most  powerful  manifestations  of 
Raphael's  mind  ought  to  have  been  in  the  department  of  sentiment 
and  intellect,  and  those  of  Gordon's  mind  in  Destructiver.ess  and 
animal  passion  ;  and  their  actual  dispositions  corresponded.  Still 
the  dispositions  of  Raphael  would  be  characterised  by  the  large  size 
of  this  oreran.     It  would  communicate  that  warmth  and  vehemence 


ABSOLUTE  SIZE  NO  CRITERION,  91 

of  temper,  which  are  found  only  when  it  is  large,  although  the 
higher  powers  might  restrain  it  from  abuse. 

It  is  one  object  to  prove  Phrenology  to  be  true,  and  another  to 
teach  a  beginner  how  to  observe  organs.  For  the  first  purpose, 
we  never  compare  an  organ  in  one  head  with  the  same  organ  in 
another  ;  because,  it  is  the  predominance  of  particular  organs  in  the 
same  head-,  that  gives  ascendency  to  particular  faculties  in  the 
individuals  ;  and,  therefore,  in  proving  phrenology,  we  compare 
the  different  organs  of  the  same  head.  But  in  learning  to  observe, 
it  is  useful  to  contrast  the  same  organ  in  different  heads,  in  order 
to  become  familiar  with  its  appearance  in  different  sizes  and  com- 
binations. 

With  this  view,  it  is  proper  to  begin  with  the  larger  organs  ;  and 
two  persons  of  opposite  dispositions,  in  the  particular  points  to  be 
compared,  ought  to  be  placed  in  juxtaposition,  and  their  heads 
observed.  Thus,  if  we  take  the  organ  of  Cautiousness,  we  should 
examine  its  developement  in  those  whom  we  know  to  be  remarkable 
for  timidity,  doubts  and  hesitation.  We  should  contrast  the  appear- 
ance of  the  organ  in  such  cases  with  that  which  it  presents  in  indi- 
viduals remarkable  for  precipitancy,  and  into  whose  minds  doubt 
or  fear  rarely  enters  :  or  a  person  who  is  unable  to  distinguish  one 
note  from  another,  may  be  compared,  in  regard  to  the  organ  of 
Tune,  with  another  who  has  a  high  natural  genius  for  music.  No 
error  is  more  to  be  avoided,  than  beginning  with  the  observation  of 
the  smaller  organs,  and  examining  these  without  a  contrast. 

An  objection  is  frequently  stated,  that  persons  having  large  heads 
have  "  little  wit,"  while  others  with  small  heads  are  "  very  clever. ''' 
The  phrenologist  never  compares  mental  ability  in  general  with  size 
of  brain  in  general;  for  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  science  is, 
that  different  parts  of  the  brain  have  different  functions,  and  that 
hence  the  same  absolute  quantity  of  brain,  if  consisting  of  intel- 
lectual organs,  may  be  connected  with  the  highest  genius ;  while, 
if  consisting  of  the  animal  organs,  lying  immediately  above  and 
behind  the  ears,  may  indicate  the  most  fearful  energy  of  the  lower 
propensities.  The  brains  of  Charibs  seem  to  be  equal  in  absolute 
size  to  those  of  average  Europeans,  but  the  chief  developement  of 


92  APPLICATION  OF  PRINCIPLES. 

the  former  is  in  the  animal  organs,  and  of  the  latter  in  the  organs 
of  sentiment  and  intellect;  and  no  plirenologlst  would  expect  the 
one  to  be  equal  in  intelligence  and  morality  to  the  other,  merely 
because  their  brains  are  equal  in  absolute  magnitude.  The  proper 
test  is  to  take  two  heads,  in  sound  health,  and  of  similar  tempera- 
ment and  ages,  in  each  of  which  the  several  organs  are  similar  in 
their  proportions,  but  the  one  of  which  is  large,  and  the  other 
small;  and  then,  if  the  preponderance  of  power  of  manifestation  is 
not  in  favor  of  the  first.  Phrenology  must  be  abandoned  aa  destitute 
of  foundation. 

In  comparing  the  brains  of  the  lower  animals  with  the  human 
brain,  the  phrenologist  looks  solely  for  the  reflected  light  of  anal- 
ogy, to  guide  him  in  his  researches,  and  never  founds  a  direct 
argument  in  favor  of  the  functions  of  the  different  parts  of  the 
human  brain  from  any  facts  observed  in  regard  to  the  lower  animals; 
and  the  reason  is,  that  such  different  genera  of  animals  are  too 
dissimilar  in  constitution  and  external  circumstances,  to  authorise 
him  to  draw  positive  resuUs  from  comparing  them.*  Many  phi- 
losophers, being  convinced  that  the  brain  is  the  organ  of  mind,  and 
having  observed  that  the  brain  of  a  man  is  larger  than  that  of  the 
majority  of  tame  animals,  as  the  horse,  dog,  ox,  have  attributed  the 
mental  superiority  of  man  to  the  superiority  in  absolute  size  of  his 
brain  ;  but  the  phrenologist  does  not  acknowledge  this  conclusion 
as  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  his  science.  The  brain  in 
one  of  the  lower  creatures  may  be  very  large,  and,  nevertheless, 
if  it  be  composed  of  parts  appropriated  to  the  exercise  of  muscular 
energy,  or  the  manifestation  of  animal  propensities,  its  possessor 
may  be  far  inferior  in  understanding  or  sagacity  to  another  animal, 
having  a  smaller  brain,  but  composed  chiefly  of  parts  destined  to 
manifest  intellectual  power. f  Whales  and  elephants  have  a  brain 
larger  than  that  of  man,  and  yet  their  sagacity  is  not  equal  to  his  ; 
but  nobody  pretends  that  the  parts  destined  to  manifest  intellect 
are  larger,  in  proportion  to  the  convolutions  intended  to  manifest 

*  Dr.  Vimontof  Paris,in  his  work  on  Human  and  Comparative  Phrenology,  has 
made  an  admirable  and  splendid  contribution  to  the  science  in  this  department. 
t  Spurzheim's  Physiognomical  System,  chap.  4. 


BRAINS  OF  LOWER  ANIMALS.  93 

propensity,  in  these  animals  than  in  man ;  and  hence  the  superior 
intelligence  of  the  human  species  is  no  departure  from  the  general 
analogy  of  nature. 

In  like  manner,  the  brains  of  the  monkey  and  dog  are  smaller 
than  those  of  the  ox,  ass,  and  hog,  and  yet  the  former  approach 
nearer  to  man  in  regard  to  their  intellectual  faculties.  To  apply 
the  principles  of  Phrenology  to  them,  it  would  be  necessary  to  dis- 
cover what  parts  manifest  intellect,  and  what  propensity,  in  each 
species  ;  and  then  to  compare  the  power  of  manifesting  each  fac- 
ulty with  the  size  of  its  appropriate  organ.  If  size  were  found  not 
to  be  a  measure  of  power,  then,  in  that  species,  the  rule  under 
discussion  would  fail  ;  but  even  this  would  not  authorise  us  to 
conclude  that  it  did  not  hold  good  in  regard  to  man  ;  for  human 
Phrenology  is  founded,  not  on  analogy,  but  on  positive  observa- 
tions. Some  persons  are  pleased  to  affirm,  that  the  brains  of  the 
lower  animals  consist  of  the  same  parts  as  the  human  brain,  only 
on  a  smaller  scale  ;  but  this  is  highly  erroneous.  If  the  student 
will  procure  brains  of  the  sheep,  dog,  fox,  calf,  horse,  or  hog,  and 
compare  them  with  the  human  brain,  or  the  casts  of  it  sold  in  the 
shops,  he  will  find  a  variety  of  parts,  especially  in  the  convolutions 
which  form  the  organs  of  the  moral  sentiments  and  the  reflecting 
faculties,  wanting  in  the  animals. 

In  commencing  the  study  of  Phrenology,  it  is  of  great  import- 
ance to  have  a  definite  object  in  view.  If  the  student  desire  to 
find  the  truth,  he  will  consider  first  the  general  principles,  devel- 
oped in  the  introduction,  and  the  presumptions  for  and  against 
them,  arising  from  admitted  facts  in  mental  Philosophy  and  Phys- 
iology. He  will  next  proceed  to  make  observations  in  nature, 
qualifying  himself  by  previous  instruction  in  the  forms,  situations, 
appearances,  and  functions  of  the  organs. 

The  circumstances  which  modify  the  efiiects  of  size,  are  consti- 
tution, health,  and  exercise;  and  the  student  ought  never  to  omit 
the  consideration  of  these,  for  they  are  highly  important.  The 
first  and  second  have  already  been  considered  on  pages  29,  30, 
and  31,  to  which  I  beg  leave  to  refer.  In  addition  to  what  is  there 
stated,  I  observe  that  the  temperaments  rarely  occur  simple  in  any 


94  APPLICATION  OF  PRINCIPLES. 

individual,  two  or  more  being  generally  combined.  The  bilious 
and  nervous  is  a  common  combination,  which  gives  strength  and 
activity;  the  lymphatic  and  nervous  is  also  common,  and  produces 
sensitive  delicacy  of  mental  constitution,  conjoined  with  indolence. 
The  nervous  and  sanguine  combined  give  extreme  vivacity,  but 
without  corresponding  vigor.  Dr.  Thomas  of  Paris  has  published 
a  theory  of  the  temperaments  to  the  following  effect.  When  the 
digestive  organs  filling  the  abdominal  cavity  are  large,  and  the 
lungs  and  brain  small,  the  individual  is  lymphatic;  he  is  fond  of 
feeding,  and  averse  to  mental  and  muscular  exertion.  When  the 
heart  and  lungs  are  large,  and  the  brain  and  abdomen  small,  the 
individual  is  sanguine;  blood  abounds  and  is  propelled  with  vigor: 
he  is  therefore  fond  of  muscular  exercise,  but  averse  to  thought. 
When  the  brain  is  large,  and  the  abdominal  and  thoracic  viscera 
small,  great  mental  energy  is  the  consequence.  These  proportions 
may  be  combined  in  great  varieties,  and  modified  results  will  ensue. 

In  some  individuals  the  brain  seems  to  be  of  a  finer  texture  than 
in  others;  and  there  is  then  a  delicacy  and  fineness  of  manifestation, 
which  is  one  ingredient  in  genius.  A  harmonious  combination  of 
organs  gives  justness  and  soundness  of  perception,  but  there  is  a 
quality  of  fineness  distinguishable  from  this.  Byron  possessed  this 
quality  in  a  high  degree. 

If,  in  each  of  two  individuals,  the  organs  of  propensity,  senti- 
ment, and  intellect,  are  equally  balanced,  the  general  conduct  of 
one  may  be  vicious,  and  that  of  another  moral  and  religious.  But 
the  question  here  is  not  one  of  poioer,  for  as  much  energy  may  be 
displayed  in  vice  as  in  virtue,  but  it  is  one  of  direction  merely. 
Now,  in  cases  where  an  equal  developement  of  all  the  organs  exists, 
direction  depends  on  external  influences,  and  no  phrenologist  pre- 
tends to  tell  to  what  objects  the  faculties  have  been  directed,  by 
merely  observing  the  size  of  the  organs. 

Suppose  that  two  individuals  possess  an  organization  exactly 
similar,  but  that  one  is  highly  educated,  and  the  other  left  entirely 
to  the  impulses  of  nature;  the  former  will  manifest  his  faculties 
with  higher  power  than  the  latter;  and  hence  it  is  argued,  that  size 
is  not  in  all  cases  a  measure  of  energy. 


POWER  AND  ACTIVITY.  95 

Here,  however,  the  requisite  of  cceteris  paribus  does  not  hold. 
An  important  condition  is  altered,  and  the  phrenologist  uniformly 
allows  for  the  effects  of  education,  before  drawing  positive  con- 
clusions.* It  may  be  supposed,  that,  if  exercise  thus  increases 
power,  it  is  impossible  to  draw  the  line  of  distinction  between 
energy  derived  from  this  cause,  and  that  which  proceeds  from  size 
in  the  organs,  and  hence  that  the  real  effects  of  size  can  never  be 
determined.  The  answer  to  this  objection  is,  that  education  may 
cause  the  faculties  to  manifest  themselves  v/ith  the  highest  degree 
of  energy  which  the  size  of  the  organs  loill  ■permit^  but  that  size 
fixes  a  limit  which  education  cannot  surpass.  Dennis,  we  may 
presume,  received  some  improvement  from  education,  but  it  did 
not  render  him  equal  to  Pope,  much  less  to  Shakspeare  or  Milton: 
therefore,  if  we  take  two  individuals  whose  brains  are  equally 
healthy,  but  whose  organs  differ  in  size,  and  educate  them  alike, 
the  advantages  in  power  and  attainment  will  be  greatest  in  the 
direct  ratio  of  the  size,  in  favor  of  the  largest  brain.  Thus  the 
objection  ends  in  this, — that  if  we  compare  brains  in  opposite 
conditions,  we  may  be  led  into  error — which  is  granted;  but  this 
is  not  in  opposition  to  the  doctrine  that,  ccsteris  paribus,  size 
determines  power.  Finally — extreme  deficiency  in  size  produces 
incapacity  for  education,  as  in  idiots;  while  extreme  developement, 
if  healthy,  as  in  Shakspeare,  Burns,  Mozart,  anticipates  its  effects, 
in  so  far  that  the  individuals  educate  themselves. 

In  saying,  then,  that,  cceteris  paribus,  size  is  a  measure  of 
power,  phrenologists  demand  no  concessions  which  are  not  made 
to  physiologists  in  general ;  among  whom,  in  this  instance,  they 
rank  themselves. 

There  is  a  great  distinction  between  power  and  activity  of  mind  ; 
and,  as  size  in  the  organs  is  an  indication  of  the  former  only,  it  is 
proper  to  keep  this  difference  in  view.  In  physics,  poioer  is  quite 
distinguishable  from  activity.  The  balance-wheel  of  a  watch  moves 
with  much  rapidity;  but  so  slight  is  its  impetus,  that  a  hair  would 
suffice  to  stop  it;  the  beam  of  a  steam-engine  traverses  slowly  and 
ponderously  through  space,  but  its  power  is  prodigiously  great. 

*  Phrenological  Transactions,  p.  308. 


96  APrLICATIOP<f    OF    PRINCIPLES. 

In  muscular  action,  these  qualities  are  recognised  with  equal 
facility  as  different.  The  greyhound  bounds  over  hill  and  dale 
with  animated  agility;  but  a  slight  obstacle  would  counterbalance 
his  momentum,  and  arrest  his  progress.  The  elephant,  on  the 
other  hand,  rolls  slowly  and  heavily  along;  but  the  impetus  of  his 
motion  would  sweep  away  an  impediment  sufficient  to  resist  fifty 
greyhounds  at  the  summit  of  their  speed. 

In  mental  manifestations  (considered  apart  from  organization) 
the  distinction  between  power  and  activity  is  equally  palpable. 
On  the  stage,  Mrs.  Siddons  senior  and  Mr.  John  Kemble  were 
remarkable  for  the  solemn  deliberation  of  their  manner,  both  in 
declamation  and  action,  and  yet  they  were  splendidly  gifted  in 
power.  They  carried  captive  at  once  the  sympathies  and  under- 
standing of  the  audience,  and  made  every  man  feel  his  faculties 
expanding,  and  his  whole  mind  becoming  greater  under  the  influ- 
ence of  their  energies.  This  was  a  display  of  power.  Other 
performers,  again,  are  remarkable  for  vivacity  of  action  and  elo- 
cution, who,  nevertheless,  are  felt  to  be  feeble  and  ineffective  in 
rousing  an  audience  to  emotion.  Jlctivity  is  their  distinguishing 
attribute,  with  an  absence  of  power.  At  the  bar,  in  the  pulpit, 
and  in  the  senate,  the  same  distinction  prevails.  Many  members 
of  the  learned  professions  display  great  fehcity  of  illustration,  and 
fluency  of  elocution,  surprising  us  with  the  quickness  of  their 
parts,  who,  nevertheless,  are  felt  to  be  neither  impressive  nor  pro- 
found. They  possess  acuteness  without  power,  and  ingenuity 
without  comprehensiveness  and  depth  of  understanding.  This  also 
proceeds  from  activity  with  little  vigor.  There  are  other  public 
speakers,  again,  who  open  heavily  in  debate,  their  faculties  acting 
slowly,  but  deeply,  like  the  first  heave  of  a  mountain-wave.  Their 
words  fall  like  minute-guns  upon  the  ear,  and  to  the  superficial 
they  appear  about  to  terminate  ere  they  have  begun  their  efforts. 
But  even  their  first  accent  is  one  of  power,  it  rouses  and  arrests 
attention;  their  very  pauses  are  expressive,  and  indicate  gathering 
energy  to  be  embodied  in  the  sentence  that  is  to  come.  When 
fairly  animated,  they  are  impetuous  as  the  torrent,  brilliant  as  the 
lightning's    beam,  and  overwhelm  and  take  possession  of  feebler 


POWER    AND    ACTIVITY.  97 

minds,  impressing  them  irresistibly  with  a  feeling  of  gigantic 
power. 

ACTIVITY  means  the  rapidity  with  which  the  faculties  may- 
be manifested.  The  largest  organs  in  each  head  have  the  greatest, 
and  the  smallest  the  least,  tendency  to  natural  activity. 

The  temperaments  also  indicate  activity.  The  nervous  is  the 
most  active,  next  the  sanguine,  then  the  bilious,  while  the  lympha- 
tic is  characterised  by  inactivity. 

In  a  lymphatic  brain,  great  size  may  be  present,  and  few  mani- 
festations occur  through  inactivity;  but  present  an  external  stimulus, 
and  the  power  will  appear.  If  the  brain  be  very  small,  any  degree 
of  stimulus  may  be  presented  external  or  internal,  and  great  power 
will  not  be  manifested. 

A  certain  combination  in  size,  namely,  Combativeness,  Destruc- 
tiveness,  Hope,  Firmness,  Acquisitiveness,  and  Love  of  Appro- 
bation, all  large,  is  favorable  to  general  activity;  and  another 
combination,  namely  Combativeness,  Destructiveness^  Firmness, 
and  Acquisitiveness,  small  or  moderate,  with  Hope,  Veneration, 
and  Benevolence,  all  large,  is  frequently  attended  with  inactivity  in 
the  mental  character;  but  the  activity  of  the  whole  brain  is  con- 
stitutionally greater  in  some  individuals  than  in  others,  as  already 
explained.  It  may  even  happen,  that,  in  the  same  individual,  one 
organ  is,  naturally  more  active  than  another,  without  reference  to 
size;  just  as  the  optic  nerve  is  sometimes  more  irritable  than  the 
auditory;  but  this  is  by  no  means  a  common  occurrence.  Exer- 
cise greatly  increases  activity;  and  hence  arise  the  benefits  of 
education.  Dr.  Spurzheim  thinks  that  "  long  fibres  produce  more 
activity,  and  thick  fibres  more  intensity." 

The  doctrine  that  size' is  a  measure  of  power,  is  not  to  be  held 
as  implymg,  that  power  is  the  only,  or  even  the  most  valuable 
quality,  which  a  mind  in  all  circumstances  can  possess.  To  drag 
artillery  over  a  mountain,  or  a  ponderous  car  through  the  streets 
of  London,  we  would  prefer  an  elephant,  or  a  horse  of  great  size 
and  muscular  power  ;  while,  for  graceful  motion,  agility  and  nimble- 
ness,  we  would  select  an  Arabian  palfrey.  In  like  manner,  to  lead 
men  in  gigantic  and  difficult  enterprises,^ — to  command  by  native 
13 


98  APPLICATION    OP   PRINCIPLES. 

greatness,  in  perilous  times,  when  law  is  trampled  under  foot, — 
to  call  forth  the  energies  of  a  people,  and  direct  them  against  a 
tyrant  at  home,  or  an  alliance  of  tyrants  abroad, — to  stamp  the 
impress  of  a  single  mind  upon  a  nation, — to  infuse  strength  into 
thoughts,  and  depth  into  feelings,  which  shall  command  the  homage 
of  enlightened  men  in  every  age, — in  short,  to  be  a  Bruce, 
Buonaparte,  Luther,  Knox,  Demosthenes,  Shakspeare  or  Milton, 
a  large  brain  is  indispensably  requisite;  but  to  display  skill,  enter- 
prise, and  fidelity,  in  the  various  professions  of  civil  life, — to  culti- 
vate, with  success,  the  less  arduous  branches  of  philosophy, — to 
excel  in  acuteness,  taste,  and  felicity  of  expression, —  to  acquire 
extensive  erudition  and  refined  manners,  a  brain  of  a  moderate 
size  is  perhaps  more  suitable  than  one  that  is  very  large  ;  for 
wherever  the  energy  is  intense,  it  is  rare  that  delicacy,  refinement, 
and  taste,  are  present  in  an  equal  degree.  Individuals  possessing 
moderate-sized  brains  easily  find  their  proper  sphere,  and  enjoy  in 
it  scope  for  all  their  energy.  In  ordinary  circumstances,  they 
distinguish  themselves;  but  sink  when  difficulties  accumulate  around 
them.  Persons  with  large  brains,  on  the  other  hand,  do  not  readily 
attain  their  appropriate  place  ;  common  occurrences  do  not  rouse 
or  call  them  forth;  and,  while  unknown,  they  are  not  trusted  with 
great  undertakings.  Often,  therefore,  such  men  pine  and  die  in 
obscurity.  When,  however,  they  attain  their  proper  element,  they 
feel  conscious  greatness,  and  they  glory  in  the  expansion  of  their 
powers.  Their  mental  energies  rise  in  proportion  to  the  obstacles 
to  be  surmounted,  and  blaze  forth  in  all  the  magnificence  of  genius 
on  occasions  when  feebler  minds  would  expire  in  despair. 

The  term  Faculty  is  used  to  denote  a  particular  power  of  teehng 
or  thinking,  connected  with  a  particular  part  of  the  brain.  Phre- 
nologists consider  Man  by  himself,  and  also  compare  him  with 
other  animals.  When  the  lower  animals  manifest  the  same  pro- 
pensities and  feelings  as  those  displayed  by  mar,  the  faculties' 
which  produce  them  are  held  to  be  common  to  both.  A  faculty 
is  admitted  as  primitive, 

1.  Which  exists  in  one  kind  of  animals,  and  not  in  another: 


WHAT   IS    A    FACULTY  •?  99 

2.  Which  varies  in  the  two  sexes  of  the  same  species; 

3.  Which  is  not  proportionate  to  the  other  faculties  of  the  same 
ndividuals; 

4.  Which  does  not  manifest  itself  simultaneously  with  the  other 
faculties;  that  is,  which  appears  and  disappears  earlier  or  later  in 
life  than  other  faculties; 

5.  Which  may  act  or  rest  singly; 

6.  Which  is  propagated  in  a  distmct  manner  from  parents  to 
children;  and, 

7.  Which  may  singly  preserve  its  proper  state  of  health  or 
disease.* 

As  phrenological  observation  establishes  the  existence  of  a  plu- 
rality of  mental  faculties,  each  connected  with  a  particular  part  of 
the  brain,  the  question  occurs.  Is  the  mind  simple,  or  an  aggregate 
of  separate  powers  Pf  It  is  extremely  difficult  to  give  a  satisfactory 
answer  to  this  inquiry.  Looking  at  the  facts  presented  to  us  by 
observation,  the  most  obvious  inference  seems  to  be,  that  the 
mind  consists  of  an  aggregate  of  powers,  and  that  one  of  them  sup- 
plies the  feeling  of  personal  Identity,  or  the  /  of  Consciousness, 
to  which,  as  their  substance,  all  the  other  feelings  and  capacities 
bear  reference.  This  view  is  strongly  supported  by  some  of  the 
phenomena  of  insanity;  for  patients  are  sometimes  insane  in  the 
feeling  of  personal  identity,  and  in  no  other  faculty  of  the  mind. 
Such  individuals  lose  all  consciousness  of  their  past  and  proper 
personality,  and  imagine  themselves  different  persons  altogether; 
while,  with  the  exception  of  this  erroneous  impression,  they  feel 
and  think  correctly.  Under  the  head  of  Memory,  in  a  subsequent 
part  of  this  work,  an  abstract  will  be  found  of  a  case  of  divided 
personality,  occurring  through  disease,  reported  by  Dr.  Dyce  of 
Aberdeen,  to  Dr.  Henry  Dewar,  and  by  him  published  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh.  A  similar  case 
is  stated  in  "The  Medical  Repository,"  communicated  by  Dr. 
Mitchell  to  the  Reverend  Dr.  Nott,  dated  January  1816.  "  When 
I  was  employed,"  says  he,  early  in  December  1S15,  with  several 

*  Phrenology  by  Dr.  Spurzheim,  p.  132. 
t  See  Phren.  Jour.  vol.  i.  p.  205 


100  APPLICATION    OF    PRINCIPLES. 

Other  gentlemen,  in  doing  the  duty  of  a  visiter  to  the  United  States. 
Mih'tary  Academy  at  West  Point,  a  very  extraordinary  case  of 
Double  Consciousness  in  a  woman,  was  related  to  me  by  one  of 
the  professors.  Major  Elicott,  who  so  v^^ortbily  occupies  the 
mathematical  chair  in  that  seminary,  vouched  for  the  correctness 
of  the  following  narrative,  the  subject  of  which  is  related  to  him 
by  blood,  and  an  inhabitant  of  one  of  the  western  counties  of  Penn- 
sylvania:—  Miss  H possessed,  naturally,  a  very  good  con- 
stitution, and  arrived  at  adult  age  without  having  it  impaired  by 
disease.  She  possessed  an  excellent  capacity,  and  enjoyed  fair 
opportunities  to  acquire  knowledge.  Besides  the  domestic  arts 
and  social  attainments,  she  had  improved  her"  mind  by  reading  and 
conversation,  and  was  well  versed  in  penmanship.  Her  memory 
was  capacious,  and  stored  with  a  copious  stock  of  ideas.  Unex- 
pectedly, and  without  any  forewarning,  she  fell  into  a  profound 
sleep,  which  continued  several  hours  beyond  the  ordinary  term. 
On  waking,  she  wal  discovered  to  have  lost  every  trait  of  acquired 
knowledge.  Her  memory  was  tabula  rasa, — all  vestiges,  both  of 
words  and  things,  were  obhterated  and  gone.  It  was  found  neces- 
sary for  her  to  learn  every  thing  again.  She  even  acquired,  by 
new  efforts,  the  art  of  spelling,  reading,  writing,  and  calculating, 
and  gradually  became  acquainted  with  the  persons  and  objects 
around,  like  a  being  for  the  first  time  brought  into  the  world.  In 
these  exercises  she  made  considerable  proficiency.  But,  after  a 
few  months,  another  fit  of  somnolency  invaded  her.  On  rousing 
from  it,  she  found  herself  restored  to  the  state  she  was  in  before 
the  first  paroxysm;  but  was  wholly  ignorant  of  every  event  and 
occurrence  that  had  befallen  her  afterwards.  The  former  condi- 
tion of  her  existence,  she  now  calls  the  Old  State,  and  the  latter 
the  New  State;  and  she  is  as  unconscious  of  her  double  character 
as  two  distinct  persons  are  of  their  respective  natures.  For 
example,  in  her  old  state,  she  possesses  all  her  original  knowledge; 
in  her  new  state  only  what  she  acquired  since.  If  a  gentleman  or 
lady  be  introduced  to  her  in  the  old  state,  and  vice  versa.,  (and  so 
of  all  other  matters) ,  to  know  them  satisfactorily  she  must  learn 
them  in  both  states.     In  the  old  state,  she  possesses  fine  powers 


WHAT  IS  A   FACULTY-?  101 

of  penmanship,  while  in  the  new,  she  writes  a  poor  awkward  hand, 
having  not  had  time  or  means  to  become  expert.  During  four 
years  and  upwards,  she  has  undergone  periodical  transitions  from 
one  of  these  states  to  the  other.  The  alterations  are  always  con- 
sequent upon  a  long  and  sound  sleep.  Both  the  lady  and  her  fam- 
ily are  now  capable  of  conducting  the  affair  without  embarrassment. 
By  simply  knowing  whether  she  is  in  the  old  or  new  state,  they 
regulate  the  intercourse,  and  govern  themselves  accordingly.  A 
history  of  her  curious  case  is  drawing  up  by  the  Reverend  Timothy 
Aldin  of  Meadville."  Such  cases  as  the  foregoing,  have  led  some 
persons  to  the  inference,  that  the  feeling  of  personal  Identity  is  a 
primitive  mental  affection,  connected  with  a  particular  organ,  and 
hence  liable  separately  to  disease;  and  because  we  have  ascertained 
that  each  of  the  other  primitive  feelings  and  intellectual  powers  is 
also  manifested  by  a  separate  organ,  the  mind  has  appeared  to 
them  to  consist  of  an  aggregate  of  powers  acting  together.  This 
view  corresponds  with  the  apprehension  of  mankind  in  general,  for 
popular  language  is  framed  on  the  principle  of  the  /of  Conscious- 
ness being  distinct  from  the  other  mental  affections.  We  speak 
of  evil  thoughts  intruding  themselves  into  our  mind  ;  and  of  our 
having  strong  desires  which  zue  forbear  to  indulge.  In  such 
expressions,  the  our  and  los  seem  to  mean  the  principle  of  personal 
identity  ;  and  the  evil  thoughts  and  desires  appear  to  be  regarded 
as  affections  of  that  principle,  originating  in  sources  distinct  from 
it,  and  different  from  one  another. 

The  more  general  opinion  of  philosophers  is,  that  the  mind  is  a 
simple  and  indivisible  substance,  and  that  the  several  faculties  are 
merely  different  states  of  it.  This  view  is  espoused  by  my  excel- 
lent friend  the  Reverend  Dr.  David  Welsh,  Professor  of  Church 
History  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  who  successfully  shows, 
that  it  is  consistent  with  the  phrenological  doctrine  of  a  plurality  of 
organs.  "  The  leading  doctrine,"  says  he,  "of  Phrenology  is, 
that  different  portions  or  organs  of  the  brain  are  connected  with  the 
primitive  feelings  of  the  mind.  The  truth  of  this  position  can 
obviously  be  ascertained  only  by  observation.  But  taking  it  for 
granted  that  it  is  true,  it  may  be  asked,  how  it  can  be  reconciled 


102  APPLICATION    OF    PRINCIPLES. 

with  the  great  principle  to  which  so  frequent  reference  has  been 
made,  that  the  powers,  thoughts,  and  feehngs  of  the  mind  are  not 
different  from  the  mind,  but  merely  the  mind  itself  existing  in  dif- 
ferent states  ? 

"  It  requires  but  litde  reflecdon  to  be  satisfied  that  the  introduc- 
tion of  cerebral  organs  does  not  in  any  degree  affect  Dr.  Brown's 
leading  principle.  The  cerebral  organs  are  not  the  mind — nor  is 
any  state  of  these  organs  the  mind.  The  mind  we  believe  to  be  a 
simple  and  indivisible  substance.  And  the  only  difference  that  the 
doctrines  of  Phrenology  introduce  in  regard  to  Dr.  Brown's  prin- 
ciple is,  that,  instead  of  the  feelings  and  thoughts  being  merely  the 
relations  of  the  simple  substance  mind,  to  its  own  former  states  or 
to  external  objects,  they  are  the  relations  of  the  simple  substance 
mind  to  certain  portions  of  the  encephalon. 

"  In  looking  upon  any  object — as  snow — we  have  the  notion  of 
a  certain  color.  Now,  the  notion  is  not  in  the  snow  but  in  the 
mind.  That  is,  the  notion  of  color  is  the  mind  existing  in  a  cer- 
tain relation  to  an  external  object.  But  it  is  allowed  on  all  hands, 
that  there  is  an  intervening  step  between  the  snow  and  the  mind. 
There  is  an  affection  of  the  optic  nerve.  The  notion  of  color, 
then,  is  the  mind  existing  in  a  certain  relation  to  the  optic  nerve. 
It  will  be  conceded,  that  this  does  not  alter  the  question  as  to  the 
simplicity  of  the  mind.  And  if  this  is  conceded,  it  is  abundantly 
obvious,  that  another  step  in  the  process  might  be  conceived, 
without  taking  away  from  the  simplicity  of  the  immaterial  part,  and 
that,  instead  of  an  affection  of  the  optic  nerve  being  the  immediate 
antecedent  of  the  notion  of  color,  it  might  be  a  particular  portion 
of  the  encephalon.  As  the  notion  of  color,  upon  this  supposition, 
is  a  relation  of  the  mind  to  the  organ  of  color,  it  follows,  that,  if 
that  organ  were  changed  in  any  respect,  the  state  of  the  mind  would 
also  be  changed.  Thus,  if  it  were  larger,  or  of  a  finer  structure, 
or  more  active,  the  perception  of  color  would  be  more  delicate,  or 
quick,  or  pleasing.  The  same  remarks  might  be  extendpd  to  all 
the  organs.  Where  the  organ  of  Causality  is  large,  as  in  the  case 
of  Dr.  Brown  himself,  then  there  will  be  a  tendency  to  reason  ; 
which  tendency  is  a  state  of  the  mind   in  relation  to  a  material 


WHAT   IS    A   FACULTY  1  103 

organ,  which  state  would  have  been  different  had  the  organ  been 
different. 

"•A  multitude  of  organs  may  all  be  affecting  the  mind  at  the 
same  instant,  and  in  that  case  a  variety  of  feelings  will  be  experi- 
enced. But  still  the  mind  is  simple,  and  it  is  only  its  relations  to 
these  different  organs  that  are  complex. 

"When  we  say,  then,  that  when  we  have  any  power,  as,  for 
example,  of  reasoning,  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  power  is 
different  from  the  mind.  There  is  a  material  organ  which  is  sepa- 
rate from  the  mind,  but  the  perception  of  relation  is  a  state  wholly 
mental.  One  state  of  the  organ  may  give  the  perception  of  rela- 
tion, another  the  desire  to  perceive  or  discover  it;  but  the  percep- 
tion and  desire  are  both  attributes,  not  of  matter  but  of  mind. — 
The  effect  of  the  organ  being  large  or  small,  active  or  inactive,  in 
different  individuals,  or  upon  the  same  Individual  at  different  times, 
is  the  subject  to  which  I  alluded  in  the  chapter  on  Cause  and 
Effect,  as  that  which  Dr.  Brown  had  not  considered." 

It  Is  not  necessary  in  studying  Phrenology  to  decide  which  of 
these  views  is  the  correct  interpretation  of  nature,  because  the 
effects  of  the  organs  on  the  mind  Is  the  same,  whichever  of  them 
be  adopted.  Holding  the  mind  to  consist  of  an  aggregate  of  pow- 
ers,—  then  each  acts  by  means  of  a  particular  organ,  and  Is  mani- 
fested with  a  degree  of  energy  in  proportion  to  its  size.  Viewing 
it  as  a  simple  substance,  capable  of  existing  in  a  variety  of  states, 
it  enters  into  each  state  by  means  of  a  separate  organ:  when  the 
organs  are  spontaneously  active,  they  induce  their  relative  states; 
without  their  influence  these  cannot  take  place:  when  they  are 
large,  the  states  are  excited  vigorously;  when  they  are  small,  they 
exist  feebly.  The  reader  may  therefore  adopt  whichever  theory 
appears  to  himself  preferable.  In  the  following  pages  the  faculties 
will  be  treated  of  as  distinct  mental  powers,  connected  with  separate 
organs,  because  this  view  enables  me  to  bring  out  the  doctrine  more 
simply  and  luminously,  than  by  considering  them  as  merely  par- 
ticular states  of  the  general  power — the  Mind;  and  this  language, 
moreover,  is  correct  even  on  the  latter  hypothesis,  because, 
according  to  this  view,  when  the  organ  of  Causality,  for  example. 


104  APPLICATION  OF  PRINCIPLES 

iS  la-gely  possessed,  the  individual  is  capable  of  reasoning  logically 
and  acutely;  of  which  mental  acts  he  is  incapable,  when  that  organ 
is  greatly  deficient.  The  word  faculhj  or  poioer^  therefore,  is  used 
to  express  the  quality  which  is  possessed  in  the  one,  and  not  in  the 
other  case,  and  which,  being  active,  is  legitimately  designated,  and 
universally  recognised,  by  either  of  these  terms. 

"It  has  occurred  to  me,"  continues  Dr.  Welsh,  "that  another 
difficulty  of  a  metaphysical  nature  may  suggest  itself  in  regard  to 
the  principles  of  Phrenology.  It  may  be  asked.  What  is  the  soul 
when  deprived  of  the  cerebral  organs?  But  the  system  of  Dr. 
Brown  affords  us  no  more  light  upon  this  point,  than  the  system 
of  Dr.  Gall.  Indeed,  a  passage  which  I  have  quoted  from  his 
Lectures  shows,  that  he  considered  that  those  v/ho  engaged  in  such 
inquiries  were  ignorant  of  the  limits  of  our  faculties.  It  is  only 
experience  that  can  teach  us  in  what  state  the  soul  exists  when 
separated  from  the  body.  And  in  this  sense  the  precept  of  the 
poet  holds  equally  in  a  scientific  and  in  a  religious  point  of  view, 
"  Wait  the  sreat  teacher  Death,  and  God  adore." 


(105) 


DIVISION   OF  THE   FACULTIES. 


Dr.  Spurzheim  divides  the  faculties  into  two  orders,  Feel- 
ings and  Intellect,  or  into  affective  and  intellectul  faculties. 
The  feelings  are  subdivided  into  two  genera,  Propensities  and 
Sentiments.  He  apphes  the  name  propensities  to  indicate  inter- 
nal impulses,  which  invite  only  to  certain  actions;  and  Sentiments 
designate  other  feelings,  not  limited  to  inclination  alone,  but  which 
have  an  emotion  of  a  peculiar  kind  superadded.  Acquisitiveness, 
for  example,  is  a  mere  impulse  to  acquire;  Veneration  gives  a  ten- 
dency to  worship,  accompanied  with  a  particular  emotion,  which 
latter  quality  is  the  reason  of  its  being  denominated  a  Sentim.ent. 

The  second  order  of  faculties  makes  us  acquainted  with  objects 
which  exist,  their  qualities  and  relations;  and  they  are  called  intel- 
lectual. They  are  subdivided  by  Dr.  Spurzheim  into  four  genera. 
The  first  includes  the  external  senses  and  voluntary  motion;  the 
second,  those  internal  powers  which  perceive  existence;  or  make 
man  and  animals  acquainted  with  external  objects,  and  their  physical 
qualities;  and  the  third,  the  powers  which  perceive  the  relations  of 
external  objects.  These  three  genera  are  named  perceptive  facul- 
ties. The  fourth  genus  comprises  the  faculties  which  act  on  all  the 
other  powers,  which  compare,  judge,  and  discriminate;  and  these 
are  named  reflective  faculties. 

The  names  of  the  faculties  employed  in  this  work  are,  with  few 
exceptions,  those  suggested  by  Dr.  Spurzheim.  To  designate 
propensity^  the  termination  ive  is  added  to  a  root  or  fundamental 
word,  and  indicates  the  quality  of  producing ;  and  ness,  the  abstract 
state,  as  Destructiveness.  The  termination  ous.,  characterizes  a 
sentiment,  as  Cautious,  Conscientious.  To  these  is  added  ness, 
to  express  the  abstract  state,  as  Cautiousness,  Conscientiousness. 
The  names  of  the  intellectual  faculties  are  easily  understood,  and 
do  not  require  any  particular  explanation. 
14 


106  DIVISION  OF  THE  FACULTIES. 

Considerable  difficulty  attends  the  arrangement  of  the  faculties 
and  organs.  In  the  first  and  second  editions  of  this  work,  they 
were  arranged  and  numbered  according  to  the  order  adopted  in 
Dr.  Spurzheim's  New  Physiognomical  System,  published  in  1815. 
The  principle  of  that  arrangement  was,  as  far  as  possible,  philo- 
sophical. The  organs  common  to  man  and  the  lower  animals  came 
fiirst,  beginning  with  the  lowest,  and  ascending.  The  organs  of  the 
moral  sentiments  were  next  treated  of;  and,  lastly,  the  organs 
of  intellect.  Since  1815,  the  great  divisions  of  this  classification 
have  been  retained,  but  repeated  alterations  have  been  made  by 
Dr.  Spurzheim  in  the  arrangement  of  the  details.  It  appears 
impossible  to  arrive  at  a  correct  classification  until  all  the  organs, 
and  also  the  primitive  faculty  or  ultimate  function  of  each,  shall  be 
definitely  ascertained,  which  is  not  at  present  the  case.  Till  this 
end  shall  be  accomplished,  every  interim  arrangement  will  be  in 
danger  of  being  overturned  by  subsequent  discoveries.  In  the  mean 
time,  however,  for  the  sake  of  uniformity,  I  adopt  Dr.  Spurzheim's 
last  order  of  arrangement.  During  his  visit  to  Edinburgh  in  1828, 
he  demonstrated  the  anatomy  of  the  brain,  and  traced  out  the  con- 
nexion between  the  organs  in  a  manner  so  clear  and  satisfactory, 
that  the  basis  of  his  arrangement  appeared  founded  in  nature.  Dr. 
Gall  seems  not  to  have  adopted  any  philosophical  principle  of  clas- 
sification; but  it  is  proper  that  his  names  and  order  should  be  known. 
I  shall,  therefore,  add  to  the  present  work  a  table  of  his  order. 

In  the  case  of  many  of  the  organs,  observations  have  been  made 
to  such  an  extent,  that  the  functions  are  held  to  be  ascertained;  and 
in  regard  to  others,  where  the  observations  have  been  fewer,  the 
functions  are  stated  as  probable.  There  is  no  difference  of  opinion 
among  phrenologists  in  regard  to  the  kind  of  manifestations  which 
accompany  the  organs  set  down  as  established;  their  differences 
touch  only  the  result  of  the  metaphysical  analysis  of  the  feelings 
and  intellectual  powers,  and  the  order  of  their  arrangement. 

I  shall  notice  briefly  the  history  of  the  discovery  of  each  organ, 
and  state  a  few  cases  in  illustration  of  its  function:  but  the  reader 
is  respectfully  informed,  that  I  do  not  pretend  to  bring  forward  the 
evidence  on  which  Phrenology  is  founded.     I  beg  to  refer  those 


NATURAL  LANGUAGE  OF  THE  FACULTIES.  107 

readers  who  are  fond  of  perusing  cases,  to  Dr.  Gall's  quaito  work, 
in  4  volumes,  entitled,  "Physiologie  du  Cerveau;"  to  Dr.  Spurz- 
heim's  work,  "Phrenology;"  to  the  "Transactions  of  the  Phre- 
nological Society;  "  and  to  the  "Phrenological  Journal  and  Miscel- 
lany." Those  persons  who  desire  philosopliical  conviction,  are 
requested  to  resort  directly  to  Mature^  which  is  always  witliin  then- 
reach;  for  self-conviction  can  be  obtained  only  by  self-observation. 


NATURAL  LANGUAGE  OF  THE  FACULTIES. 

Drs.  Gall  and  Spurzheim  have  investigated  the  laws  which 
determine  the  natural  language  of  each  faculty,  and  their  exposition 
of  them  is  highly  mteresting  and  instructive.  The  leading  principle 
is,  that  the  motions  are  always  in  the  direction  of  the  seat  of  the 
organs;  Self-Esteem,  for  instance,  produces  an  attitude  in  which 
the  head  and  body  are  held  high  and  reclining  backwai'd;  Cautious- 
ness carries  the  head  backward  and  to  the  side;  Veneration,  upward 
and  forward;  and  so  on. 

Each  organ  when  predominantly  powerful  and  active  produces 
thes€  motions  and  attitudes.  It  also  gives  a  peculiar  expression  to 
the  voice  and  features;  thus  Destructiveness  communicates  to  the 
voice  a  hard  ringing  quality,  and  to  the  countenance  a  dark  harsh 
expression;  while  Love  of  Approbation  gives  a  flattering  pleasing 
tone  to  the  voice  and  gracious  smiles  to  the  face.  The  modes  of 
expression  attached  to  each  faculty  being  natural  are  universal;  and 
are  understood  in  all  countries  and  all  ages.  They  are  the  founda- 
tions of  pantomime;  and  also  of  expression  in  painting  and  sculp- 
ture. The  know^ledge  of  them  renders  Physiognomy  scientific; 
which,  without  this  knowledge,  is  a  mere  empirical  art  leading  as 
often  to  erroneous  as  to  sound  conclusions. 


(108) 


Order  I.  — FEELINGS. 


Genus  I.— PROPENSITIES. 

The  faculties  falling  under  this  genus  do  not  form  ideas,  their 
sole  function  is  to  produce  a  propensity  of  a  specific  kind.  These 
faculties  are  common  to  Man  Avith  Animals. 

1. AMATIVENESS. 

The  cerebellum  is  the  organ  of  this  propensity,  and  it  is  situated 
between  the  mastoid  process  on  each  side,  and  the  projecting  point 
in  the  middle  of  the  transverse  ridge  of  the  occipital  bone.  The 
size  is  indicated  during  life  by  the  thiclmess  of  the  neck  at  these 
parts,*  or  between  the  ears.  In  some  individuals  the  lobes  of  the 
cerebellum  descend  downwards,  enlarging  the  base  of  the  occipital 
bone,  rather  than  increasing  its  expansion  between  the  ears.  In 
such  cases  the  projection  may  be  felt  by  the  hand,  if  pressed  firmly 
on  the  neck. 

There  is  nearly  half  an  inch  of  space  between  the  cerebellum 
and  the  commencement  of  the  posterior  lobe  of  the  brain,  at  the 
insertion  of  what  is  called  the  Tentorium. 

*  Partes  genitales,  sive  testes  hominibus  et  fceminis  uterus,  propensionem  ad 
venerem  excitare  nequeunt.  Nam  in  pueris  veneris  stimulus  seminis  secretioni 
ScPpi  antccedit.  Plures  eunuchi,  quanquam  testibus  privati,  banc  inclinationem 
conservant.  Sunt  etiam  fosminas  quEE  sine  utero  natae,  hunc  stimulum  manifes- 
tant.  Hinc  quidam  ex  doctrinse  nostroB  inimicis,  harum  rerum  minime  inscii, 
seminis  prassentiam  in  sanguine  contendunt,  et  banc  causam  sufficien'em  exist- 
imant.  Attamen  argumenta  bujus  generis  yerk  physiologic  longe  absimt,  et  vix 
citatione  digna  videntur.  Nonnulli  etiam  hujus  inclinationis  causam  in  liquore 
prostatico  quaerunt ;  sed  in  senibus  aliquando  fluidi  prostatic!  secretio,  sine  ulla 
veneris  inelinatione,  copiosissima  est. — Spurzheim's  Phrenohgy,  p.  148. 


AMATIVENESS.  109 


SMALL  AMATIVENESS.  LARGE  AMATIVENESS. 

The  Tentorium  is  a  strong  membrane,  which  separates  the  cere- 
bellum from  the  brain  ;  in  animals  which  leap,  as  the  cat  and  tiger, 
the  separation  is  produced  by  a  thin  plate  of  bone.  The  cerebel- 
lum is,  however,  connected  with  the  brain  ;  for  its  fibres  originate 
in  the  corpora  restiformia,  from  which  also  the  organs  of  the 
other  animal  propensities  arise.  Certain  fibres  originating  in  that 
source,  after  passing  through  the  optic  thalami,  expand  into  the 
organs  of  Philoprogenitiveness,  Adhesiveness,  Combativeness,  De- 
structiveness,  &c.  The  nerves  of  sight  can  be  traced  into  the 
nates,  lying  very  near  the  same  parts  ;  w^hile  the  nerves  of  hearing 
spring  from  the  medullary  streaks  on  the  surface  of  the  fourth  ven- 
tricle, lying  immediately  under  the  cerebellum.  These  arrange- 
ments of  structure  correspond  with  the  facts,  that  the  eyes  express 
more  powerfully  than  the  other  senses,  the  passion  of  love  ;  that 
abuses  of  this  propensity  produce  blindness  and  deafness  ;  and, 
that  this  feeling  frequently  excites  Adhesiveness,  Combativeness, 
and  Destructiveness,  into  vivid  action,  rendering  attachment  irre- 
sistibly strong,  and  inspiring  even  females,  who,  in  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, are  timid  and  retiring,  with  courage  and  determination 
when  under  its  influence.  The  cerebellum  consists  of  three  por- 
tions, a  central  and  two  lateral.  The  central  is  in  direct  communi- 
cation with  the  corpora  restiformia,  and  the  two  lateral  portions 
are  brought  into  communication  with  each  other  by  the  pons 
Varolii. 

Dr.  Gall  was  led  to  the  discovery  of  this  organ  In  the  following 
manner.     He  was  physician  to  a  widow  of  irreproachable  charae- 


1 10  AMATIVENESS. 

ter,  who  was  seized  with  nervous  affections,  to  which  succeeded 
severe  nymphomania.  In  the  violence  of  a  paroxysm,  he  sup- 
ported her  head,  and  was  struck  with  the  large  size  and  heat  of  the 
neck.  She  stated,  that  heat  and  tension  of  these  parts  always  pre- 
ceded a  paroxysm.  He  followed  out,  by  numerous  observations, 
the  idea  suggested  by  this  occurrence,  of  connexion  betwixt  the 
propensity  and  the  cerebellum,  and  he  soon  established  the  point 
to  his  own  satisfaction. 

The  faculty  gives  rise  to  the  sexual  feeling.  In  new-born  chil- 
dren, the  cerebellum  is  the  least  developed  of  all  the  cerebral 
parts.  At  this  period,  the  upper  and  posterior  part  of  the  neck, 
corresponding  to  the  small  cerebellum,  appears  attached  almost  to 
the  middle  of  the  base  of  the  skull.  The  cerebellum  is  then  to  the 
Drain  as  one  to  thirteen,  fifteen  or  twenty.  In  adults,  it  is  as  one 
to  six,  seven  or  eight.  It  attains  its  fujl  size  between  the  age  of 
eighteen  and  twenty-six.  The  neck  then  appears  greatly  more 
expanded  behind..  The  cerebellum  is  less  in  females,  in  general, 
than  in  males.  In  old  age  it  frequently  diminishes.  There  is  no 
constant  proportion  betwixt  the  brain  and  it  in  all  individuals,  just 
as  there  is  no  invariable  proportion  betwixt  this  feeling  and  the 
other  powers  of  the  mind.  Sometimes,  however,  the  cerebellum 
is  largely  developed  before  the  age  of  puberty.  This  was  the  case 
in  a  child  of  three  years  of  age,  in  a  boy  of  five,  and  in  one  of 
twelve  ;  and  they  all  manifested  the  feeling  strongly.  In  the  cast 
of  the  skull  of  Dr.  Hette,  sold  in  the  shops,  the  developement  is 
small,  and  the  feeling  corresponded.  In  the  casts  of  Mitchell, 
Dean,  and  Raphael,  it  is  very  large,  and  the  manifestations  were  in 
proportion.  Farther  evidence  of  the  functions  of  this  organ  will 
be  found  in  Dr.  Gall's  "  Physiologic  du  Cerveau;  "  and  several 
cases  are  mentioned  in  the  following  works,  viz.  "Journal  of  Pa- 
thological Observations  kept  at  the  Hospital  of  the  Ecole  de 
Medecine,  No.  108,  15th  July  1817,"  case  of  Jean  Michel 
Brigand;  "Journal  of  the  Hotel  Dieu,"  case  o^Florat,  19th 
March  1819,  and  of  a  woman,  11th  November  1818;  "  Wep- 
ferus,  Historiae  apoplecticorum,"  edit.  1724,  page  487  ;  "Phil- 
osophical Transactions,"  No.  228,  case  by  Dr.   Tyson;   "  M^- 


AMATIVENESS.  Ill 

moires  de  Chirurgie  Militaire,  et  Campagnes,"  by  Baron  Larrey, 
vol.  ii.  p.  150,  vol.  iii.  p.  262;  "  Serres  on  Apoplexy;" 
"Richerand's  Elements  of  Physiology,"  pp.  379,  380,  Kerri- 
son's  Translation  ;  "  Dr.  Spurzheim's  Phrenology,"  p.  148. 

"It  is  impossible,"  says  Dr.  Spurzheim,  "to  unite  a  greater 
number  of"  proofs  in  demonstration  of  any  natural  truth,  than  may 
be  presented  to  determine  the  function  of  the  cerebellum;"  and  in 
this  I  fully  agree  with  him.  Those  who  have  not  read-  Dr.  Gall's 
section  on  this  organ,  can  form  no  adequate  conception  of  the 
force  of  the  evidence  which  he  has  collected. 

M.  Flourens  has  lately  performed  some  experiments  on  the 
lower  animals,  chiefly  by  inflicting  injuries  on  their  cerebella,  and 
contends  that  these  experiments  show  that  the  cerebellum  serves 
for  the  regulation  of  muscular  motion.  "  On  removing  the  cere- 
bellum," says  he,  "  the  animal  loses  the  power  of  executing  com- 
bined movements."  Magendie  performed  similar  experiments  on 
the  cerebellum,  and  found  that  they  occasion  only  an  irresistible 
tendency  in  the  animal  to  run,  walk,  or  sicim,  backivards.  He 
made  experiments,  also,  on  the  corpora  striata  and  tubercula  qua- 
drigemina,  with  the  following  results:  When  one  part  of  these  was 
cut,  the  animal  rolled;  when  another,  \iivent  forioard,  and  extended 
its  head  and  extremities  ;  when  another,  it  bent  all  these  :  so  that, 
according  to  this  mode  of  determining  the  cerebral  functions,  these 
parts  of  the  brain  possess  an  equal  claim  with  the  cerebellum,  to  be 
regarded  as  the  regulators  of  motion.  The  fact  is,  that  all  parts 
of  the  nervous  system  are  so  intimately  connected,  that  the  inflic- 
tion of  injuries  is  not  the  way  to  determine  the  functions  of  any, 
even  its  least  important  parts. 

The  great  size  of  the  cerebellum,  however, — the  circumstance 
of  its  lateral  portions  not  bearing  the  same  relation  to  the  middle 
part  in  all  animals, — and  also  the  results  of  some  late  experiments, 
have  suggested  the  notion  that  it  may  not  be  a  single  organ,  but 
that,  although  Amativeness  is  unquestionably  connected  with  the 
largest  portion  of  it,  other  functions  may  be  connected  with  the 
other  parts.  This  seems  not  improbable,  but  as  we  have  no  direct 
evidence  in  proof  of  the  fact,  or  in  illustration  of  the  nature  of  these 


112  AMATIVENESS. 

supposed  functions,  it  is  unnecessary  to  do  more  than  announce 
the  proposition  as  one  worthy  of  investigation.  If  I  might  hazard 
a  conjecture,  founded  on  such  facts  as  are  known,  I  would  pre 
sume  the  middle  portion  to  be  the  organ  of  Amativeness,  and  the 
two  lateral  portions  to  be  those  of  motion.  The  middle  portion 
springs  from  the  same  roots  as  the  organs  of  the  other  propensities, 
while  the  lateral  portion  by  means  of  the  pons  varolii  are  placed  in 
connexion  with  the  corpora  pyramidalia,  from  which  originate  the 
organs  of  intellect  that  preside  over  motion.  Besides  the  anterior 
columns  of  the  spinal  marrow  are  the  roots  of  the  nerves  of  motion, 
and  seem  to  be  a  continuation  of  the  corpora  pyramidalia. 

Mr.  Scott,  in  an  excellent  essay  on  the  influence  of  this  propen- 
sity on  the  higher  sentiments  and  intellect,*  observes,  that  it  has 
been  regarded  by  some  individuals,  as  almost  synonymous  with 
pollution;  and  the  notion  has  been  entertained,  that  it  cannot  be 
even  approached  without  defilement.  This  mistake  has  arisen, 
from  attention  being  directed  too  exclusively  to  the  abuses  of  the 
propensity.  Like  every  thing  that  forms  part  of  the  system  of 
nature,  it  bears  the  stamp  of  wisdom  and  excellence  in  itself, 
although  liable  to  abuse.  It  exerts  a  quiet  but  effectual  influence 
in  the  general  intercourse  between  the  sexes,  giving  rise  in  each 
to  a  sort  of  kindly  interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  other.  This 
disposition  to  mutual  kindness  between  the  sexes  does  not  arise 
fi'om  Benevolence  or  Adhesiveness,  or  any  other  sentiment  or 
propensity  alone;  because,  if  such  were  its  sources,  it  would  have 
an  equal  effect  in  the  intercourse  of  the  individuals  of  each  sex 
among  themselves,  which  it  has  not.  "In  this  quiet  and  unob- 
trusive state  of  the  feeling,"  says  Mr.  Scott,  ''there  is  nothing  in 
the  least  gross  or  offensive  to  the  most  sensitive  delicacy.  So  far 
the  contrary,  that  the  want  of  some  feehng  of  this  sort  is  regarded, 
wherever  it  appears,  as  a  very  palpable  defect,  and  a  most  unami- 
able  trait  in  the  character.  It  softens  all  the  proud,  irascible,  and 
antisocial  principles  of  our  nature,  in  every  thing  which  regards  that 
sex  which  is  the  object  of  it;  and  it  increases  the  activity  and  force 
of  all  the  kindly  and  benevolent  affections.     This  explains  many 

*  Phrenological  Journal,  No.  vii.  p.  392. 


PHILOPROGENITIVENESS.  113 

facts  which  appear  in  the  mutual  regards  of  the  sexes  towards  each 
other.  Men  are,  generally  speaking,  more  generous  and  kind, 
more  benevolent  and  charitable,  towards  women,  than  they  are  to 
men,  or  than  women  are  to  one  another."  This  faculty  also 
inspires  the  poet  and  dramatist  in  compositions  on  the  passion  of 
Love;  and  it  exerts  a  very  powerful  influence  over  human  conduct. 
Dr.  Spurzheim  observes,  that  individuals  in  whom  this  organ  is 
very  large,  ought  not  to  be  dedicated  to  the  profession  of  religion, 
m  countries  where  chastity  for  life  is  required  of  the  clergy. 

The  abuses  of  this  propensity  are  the  sources  of  innumerable 
ievils  in  life ;  and,  as  the  organ  and  feeling  exist,  and  produce  an 
influence  on  the  mind,  independently  of  external  communica- 
tion. Dr.  Spurzheim  suggests  the  propriety  of  instructing  young 
persons  in  the  consequences  of  its  improper  indulgence,  as  prefer- 
able to  keeping  them  in  "  a  state  of  ignorance  that  may  provoke 
a  fatal  curiosity,  compromising  in  the  end  their  own  and  their 
descendants'  bodily  and  mental  constitution." 

The  organ  is  established. 


2.— PHILOPROGENITIVENESS. 

The  attachment  of  the  inferior  animals  to  their  young  has  often 
been  the  subject  of  admiration.  In  them  it  is  attributed  to  instinct. 
Instinct  means  an  original  propensity,  impelling  the  animal  endow- 
ed with  it  to  act  in  a  certain  way,  without  intention  or  purpose. 
Is  the  attachment  of  human  beings  to  offspring,  the  consequence 
of  a  similar  innate  feeling,  or  is  it  the  result  of  reason,  or  a  modifi- 
cation of  benevolence,  or  of  other  feelings  ?  That  it  does  not 
spring  from  reflection  is  abundantly  evident.  Reason  only  investi- 
gates causes  and  efiects,  and  decides  on  a  comparison  of  facts. 
The  mother,  while  she  smiles  with  inefl^able  joy  on  her  tender 
ofl^spring,  does  not  argue  herself  into  the  delightful  emotion.  The 
excitement  is  instantaneous ;  the  object  requires  only  to  be  pre- 
sented to  her  eye  or  imagination,  and  the  whole  impetus  of  paren- 
tal love  stirs  the  mind.  Hence  a  feeling  or  propensity  is  obviously 
15 


114  PHILOPROGENITIVENESS. 

the  basis  of  the  affection.  It  is  not  a  modification  of  any  other 
sentiment,  but  an  original  propensity;  for,  on  going  into  society, 
we  find,  that  the  Love  of  Offspring  bears  no  perceptible  proportion 
to  any  other  feeling  or  faculty  of  the  mind.  If  it  depended  on 
Benevolence,  no  selfish  individual  should  be  ardently  attached  to 
offspring ;  and  yet  the  opposite  is  frequently  the  fact.  If  it  were 
a  modification  of  mere  Self-Love,  as  some  have  supposed,  then 
parental  affection  should  be  weak,  in  proportion  as  generosity 
was  strong;  but  this  theory  also  is  contradicted  by  experience. 
Neither  do  we  find  Love  of  Offspring  bear  a  definite  relation  to 
intellectual  endowment.  Sometimes  a  woman  of  limited  under- 
standing loves  her  children  ardently ;  occasionally  another  equally 
weak  is  indifferent  towards  them.  Some  highly  intellectual  women 
add  maternal  affection  to  their  other  virtues;  while  others,  not  less 
acute  in  understanding,  look  on  offspring  as  a  burden.  There  are, 
therefore,  the  strongest  reasons  for  holding  it  to  be  a  primitive 
tendency  of  the  mind;  and  phrenological  observations  coincide  with 
this  conclusion. 

The  organ  is  situated  immediately  above  the  middle  part  of  the 
cerebellum,  and  corresponds  to  the  protuberance  of  the  occiput. 
Dr.  Gall  gives  the  following  account  of  its  discovery.  In  the 
course  of  his  observations  he  had  remarked,  that,  in  the  human 
race,  the  upper  part  of  the  occiput  is  in  general  more  prominent 
in  the  female  skull  than  in  the  male ;  and  inferred,  that  the  part 
of  the  brain  beneath  was  the  organ  of  some  feeling  which  is 
stronger  in  women  than  in  men.  But  the  question  presented 
itself.  What  is  this  quality  ?  During  several  years  various  conjec- 
tures occurred  to  him,  which  he  successively  adopted  and  rejected; 
and  he  frequently  stated  to  his  pupils  the  embarrassment  he  felt 
upon  the  subject.  He  remarked  at  last,  that,  in  tliis  particular 
})oint,  the  crania  of  monkeys  bore  a  singular  resemblance  to  those 
of  women, — and  concluded,  that  the  cerebral  part  placed  imme- 
diately under  the  prominence,  was  probably  the  organ  of  some 
quality  or  faculty,  for  which  the  monkey  tribes  and  women  were 
distinguished  in  a  remarkable  degree.  He  was  led  the  more  to 
entertain  this  idea,  because,  from  the  discoveries  he  had  already 


PHILOPROGENITI VENESS .  115 

made  in  this  region,  he  was  aware  that  he  was  not  to  look  for  the 
seat  of  any  superior  intellectual  or  moral  faculty.  He  repeatedly 
revolved  in  his  mind  all  the  feehngs  manifested  by  the  monkey 
tribe,  so  far  as  known  to  him.  At  last,  in  one  of  those  favorable 
moments,  when  a  lucky  thought  sometimes  does  more  to  elicit 
truth  than  years  of  labor  and  reflection,  it  suddenly  occurred  to 
him,  in  the  midst  of  a  lecture,  that  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
characteristics  of  monkeys,  is  an  extreme  ardor  of  affection  for 
their  young.  This  quality  had  been  noticed  in  them  by  the  most 
distinguished  naturalists;  and  persons  who  have  resided  in  countries 
where  monkeys  are  common,  have  also  observed  it,  and  remarked, 
that  it  led  them  to  bestow  caresses  even  on  the  young  of  the 
human  species,  especially  Negro  children,  when  these  were  so 
unlucky  as  to  fall  in  their  way.  The  thought  flashed  upon  his 
mind  that  this  might  be  the  feeling  or  quality  of  which  he  was  in 
search.  Impatient  to  put  this  conclusion  to  the  test,  by  a  compar- 
ison of  all  the  male  with  the  female  skulls  of  animals  in  his  exten- 
sive collection,  he  begged  his  hearers  to  go  away,  and  leave  him 
to  his  researches; — and  on  this  examination  he  found,  that  there 
existed,  in  fact,  the  same  difference  between  the  male  and  female 
skull  of  the  lower  animals  in  general,  which  he  had  observed 
between  the  male  and  the  female  skull  in  the  human  species. 
This  seemed  a  confirmation  of  the  idea,  that  the  quality  of  which 
this  cerebral  part  is  the  organ,  is  that  of  affection  for  offspring 
— which,  he  had  already  remai-ked,  was  possessed  in  a  greater 
degree  by  the  females  of  the  animal  tribes,  than  by  the  males. 
The  inference  appeared  to  him  more  plausible,  from  the  circum- 
stance, that  this  organ  was  placed  in  close  vicinity  to  that  of  the 
instinct  of  propagation.  Many  subsequent  observations  established 
the  conclusion.* 

The  faculty  produces  the  instinctive  love  of  offspring  and  delight 
in  children. 

The  feeling  is  beautifully  represented  in  the  following  lines  of 
Lord  Byron: 

*  Gall  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau.     Edit.  1823.  vol.  iii. — Phren.  Journ.  vol. 
ii.  p.  23. 


116  PHILOPROGENI'J'IVENESS. 

Adah. 

Where  were  then  the  joys, 
The  mother's  joys  of  watching,  nourishin;^. 
And  loving  him  ?     Soft !  He  awakes.     Sweet  Enoch. 
(She  goes  to  the  child.) 
Oh  Cain  I  Look  on  him ;  see  how  full  of  life, 
Of  strength,  of  bloom,  of  beauty,  and  of  joy. 
How  like  to  me, — how  like  to  thee,  when  gentle, 
For  then  we  are  all  alike  :  is  't  not  so,  Cain  ? 
Mother,  and  Sire,  and  Son,  our  features  are 
Reflected  in  each  other. 

Look !  how  he  laughs,  and  stretches  out  his  arms, 
And  opens  wide  his  blue  eyes  upon  thine. 
To  hail  his  father ;  while  his  little  form 
Flutters  as  winged  with  joy.     Talk  not  of  pain  ! 
The  childless  cherubs  well  might  envy  thee 
The  pleasures  of  a  parent !     Bless  him,  Cain, 
As  yet  he  hath  no  words  to  thank  thee,  but 
His  heart  will,  and  thine  own  too. 

Cain,  Act  III.  Scene  1. 

The  organ  may  be  verified  in  the  easiest  manner  by  any  person 
who  chooses  to  observe  nature.  It  is  one  of  the  most  conspicu- 
ous and  easily  distinguished  in  the  head,  particularly  in  the  human 
species ;  and  the  manifestations  may  be  recognised  with  equal 
facility.  Those  who  possess  the  feeling  in  a  strong  degree,  show 
it  in  every  word  and  look  when  children  are  concerned;  and  these, 
again,  by  a  reciprocal  tact,  or,  as  it  is  expressed  by  the  Author  of 
Waverley,  by  a  kind  of  "free-masonry,"  discover  at  once  persons 
with  whom  they  may  be  familiar,  and  use  all  manner  of  freedoms. 
It  is  common,  when  such  an  individual  appears  among  them,  to 
see  him  welcomed  with  a  shout  of  delight.  Other  individuals, 
again,  feel  the  most  marked  indiiFerence  towards  children,  and  are 
unable  to  conceal  it,  when  betrayed  into  their  company.  Romp- 
ing disconcerts  them,  and  having  no  sympathy  with  children's 
pranks  and  prattle,  they  look  on  them  as  the  greatest  annoyances. 
The  same  novelist  justly  remarks,  that  if  such  persons  sometimes 
make  advances  to  children,  for  the  purpose  of  recommending 
themselves  to  the  parents,  their  awkward  attempts  are  instinctively 
recognised,  and  fail  in  attracting  reciprocal  attention.  On  examin- 
ing the  heads  of  two  persons  thus  differently  constituted,  a  promi- 


PHILOPROGENITIVENESS.  117 

nence,  corresponding  to  this  organ,  will  be  discovered  in  the  hind 
part  of  the  one,  which  will  not  be  found  to  the  same  extent  in  the 
other. 

It  is  a  remai'kable  ordination  of  nature,  that  the  direction  of  this 
feeling  bears  a  reference  to  the  weakness  and  helplessness  of  its 
objects,  rather  than  to  any  other  of  their  physical  or  moral  quali- 
ties. The  mother  doats  with  fondest  delight  on  the  infant  m  the 
first  months  of  its  existence,  when  it  presents  fewest  attractions 
to  other  individuals;  and  her  solicitude  and  affection  are  bestowed 
longest  and  most  intensely  on  the  feeblest  member  of  her  family. 
On  this  principle,  the  youngest  is  the  reigning  favorite,  unless  there 
be  some  sickly  being  of  maturer  age,  who  then  shares  with  it  the 
maternal  sympathies.  The  primitive  function  of  the  faculty  seems 
to  be  to  inspire  with  an  interest  in  the  helplessness  of  childhood ; 
but  it  gives  also  a  softness  of  manner,  in  treating  the  feeble  and 
the  delicate  even  in  advanced  Hfe;  and  persons  in  whom  this  organ 
is  large  in  combination  with  Benevolence,  are  better  fitted  for  the 
duties  of  a  sick  chamber,  than  those  in  whom  Philoprogenitiveness 
is  small.  The  natural  language  of  the  faculty  is  soft,  tender,  and 
condescending.  It  is  essential  to  a  successful  teacher  of  children. 
Individuals  in  whom  the  organ  is  deficient,  have  little  sympathy 
with  the  feelings  of  the  youthful  mind,  and  their  tones  and  manner 
of  communicating  instruction  repel,  instead  of  engaging,  the  affec- 
tions of  the  scholar.  This  is  the  cause  why  some  persons,  whose 
manner,  in  intercourse  with  their  equals,  is  unexceptionable,  are 
nevertheless  greatly  disliked  as  teachers;  and  cliildren  are  generally 
in  the  right  in  their  antipathies,  although  their  parents  and  guard- 
ians, judging  by  their  own  feelings,  imagine  them  actuated  alto- 
gether by  caprice. 

It  has  been  remarked  by  Mr.  Scott,  that  the  fondness  which 
unmarried  females,  or  married  ladies  who  have  no  children,  some- 
times lavish  "on  animals,  generally  of  the  smaller  and  more  deli- 
cate kinds,  whom  they  nurse  and  pamper  with  a  degree  of  devot- 
edness  and  affection,  which  can  be  compared  only  to  that  of  a 
mother  for  her  children,"  probably  has  its  origin  in  this  faculty. 
The  feeling  seems  the  same,  its  objects  only  being  different;  and, 


118  PHILOPROGENITIVENESS. 

instead  of  overwhelming  such  individuals  with  ridiciJe,  they  deserve 
our  forbearance  at  least,  if  not  respect,  as  "  they  are  merely 
following  the  bent  of  a.  strong  natural  propensity,  implanted  in 
them  for  the  wisest  purposes,  and  which,  in  more  favorable  cir- 
cumstances, would  have  rendered  them  affectionate  mothers,  and 
excellent  mistresses  of  families." 

This  propensity  furnishes  the  spirit  of  lullabies,  and  inspires  the 
poet  and  dramatist  in  many  of  their  representations.  Wordsworth 
manifests  it  strongly,  and  some  of  the  faults  of  his  manner  are 
cleai'ly  attributable  to  an  excess  of  its  influence.  It  characterizes 
the  Lake  school  of  poetry  in  general. 

The  feeling  produced  by  this  faculty  is  so  intense  and  dehghtful, 
that  no  other  is  more  liable  to  abuse.  When  too  energetic,  and 
not  regulated  by  judgment,  it  leads  to  pampering  and  spoiling  chil- 
dren; to  irrational  anxieties  regarding  them,  and  sometimes  to  the 
most  extravagant  conceit  of  their  supposed  excellences.  When 
misappHed,  it  defeats  the  object  of  its  institution;  for,  instead  of 
conducing  to  the  protection  and  happiness  of  children,  it  renders 
them  highly  miserable.  When  the  organ  is  deficient,  indifference 
and  regardlessness  about  offspring  are  the  consequences.  Children 
ai-e  then  felt  as  a  heavy  burden;  they  are  abandoned  to  the  care 
of  menials,  or  altogether  neglected,  and  left  to  encounter  the  perils 
and  distresses  incident  to  tender  age,  without  solace  or  protection. 
Instances  have  been  known  (as  in  the  case  of  the  Countess  of 
Macclesfield,  mother  of  the  poet  Savage,)  of  mothers  who  con- 
ceived an  unaccountable  and  seemingly  causeless  hatred  against 
their  own  offspring,  and  who  persecuted  them  with  relentless 
severity.  Dr.  Gall  knew,  at  Vienna,  a  lady,  who  loved  her 
husband  tenderly,  and  who  managed  the  concerns  of  her  house- 
hold with  intelligence  and  activity,  but  who  sent  from  home,  as 
soon  as  they  saw  the  hght,  all  the  nme  children  to  whom  she 
successively  gave  birth,  and  for  years  never  asked  to  see  them. 
She  herself  was  somewhat  ashamed  of  this  indifference,  and  could 
not  account  for  it  to  herself.  To  quiet  her  conscience,  she  insisted 
upon  her  husband  seeing  them  every  day,  and  taking  a  charge  of 
their  education.     From  deficiency  of  the  organ  also,  combmed  with 


PHILOPROGENITIVENESS.  119 

Other  feelings  in  a  strong  degree,  probably  arises  the  cruelty  of 
such  barbarous  mothers  as  Isabel  of  Bavaria,  of  whom  history 
relates  that  she  stifled  all  the  sentiments  of  affection  due  to  her 
children. 

Among  twenty-nine  infanticides  whom  Drs.  Gall  and  Spurzheim 
had  occasion  'to  examine,  the  organ  of  the  Love  of  Children  was 
very  feebly  developed  in  twenty -five.  Dr.  Gall  has  oftener  than 
once  made  the  remark,  that  it  is  not  this  defect  in  developement 
alone  which  determines  a  mother  to  child-murder;  but  that  indi- 
viduals defective  in  this  respect,  yield  sooner  than  others  to  those 
unfavorable  circumstances  which  lead  to  the  crime,  because  they 
are  not  endowed  with  that  profound  feeling  which,  in  the  heart  of 
a  good  mother,  will  rise  victorious  over  every  such  temptation. 

In  selecting  a  nurse  or  child's  maid,  the  phrenologist  will  be 
directed  by  the  developement  of  this  organ.  This  application  of 
the  science,  when  mentioned  to  those  who  have  not  studied  the 
subject,  generally  excites  a  smile;  and  certainly,  if  the  size  of 
the  part  of  the  brain  in  question  were  no  indication  of  instinctive 
affection  for  children,  no  test  for  qualification  could  be  more  justly 
deserving  of  ridicule  than  the  one  now  recommended;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  the  organ  be  an  unerring  index  of  this  disposition 
(which  it  is,  otherwise  all  we  are  now  considering  is  a  delusion,) 
no  weakness  can  be  greater  than  that  which  would  fear  to  appeal 
to  it,  because  it  might  provoke  a  smile  in  those  who  are  ignorant 
that  nature  has  established  the  function. 

The  head  of  the  male  is  generally  broader  and  rounder,  and 
that  of  the  female  longer  and  narrower,  when  contrasted  with  each 
other.  This  arises  partly  from  the  organ  of  Philoprogenitiveness 
being  more  developed  in  the  female  head,  and  causing  the  occiput 
to  project.  The  portion  of  brain  placed  in  the  occiput  is  greater 
in  women  than  in  men,  though  the  entire  brain  of  the  woman  is 
smaller  than  that  of  the  man.  This  difference  is  observable  in 
the  foetal  skull  of  the  two  sexes;  and  is  conspicuous  in  boys  and 
girls.  The  manifestations  even  in  the  earliest  periods  of  life 
correspond;  for  the  girl  shows  attachment  to  dolls  and  infants, 
while  the  boy  is   addicted   to    romping  and   athletic  sports.     A 


120  PHILOPROGENITIVENESS. 

curious  practical  example  of  the  difference  in  this  feeling  hetwixt 
males  and  females  in  general  occurs  in  Morier's  Travels  in  Persia 
"  The  surgeons  of  the  Embassy,"  says  he,  "  endeavored  to  intro 
duce  vaccination  among  the  Persians,  and  their  efforts  at  first  vi^ere 
very  successful;  but  on  a  sudden  its  progress  was  checked  by  the 
government  itself.  Several  of  the  King's  Ferashes  were  placed 
at  the  gate  of  the  Ambassador's  hotel,  nominally  as  a  mark  of 
attention  to  his  Excellency,  but  really  to  stop  all  women  from 
going  to  our  surgeons.  They  said  that  if  the  people  wanted  their 
children  to  be  vaccinated,  ihe  fathers,  and  not  the  mothers,  were  to 
lake  them  to  the  surgeons,  by  which  means  the  eagerness  for  vac- 
cination was  stopped;  for  we  soon  discovered  that  the  males  did 
not  feel  one-half  the  same  anxiety  for  their  offspring  as  the 
women.'''' — Second  Journey  through  Persia,  p.  191. 

There  are,  nevertheless,  exceptions  to  this  general  rule.  Some- 
times the  occipital  part  of  the  brain  is  feebly  developed  in  a 
woman,  and  has  acquired  a  very  large  size  in  a  man.  In  such 
cases,  the  dispositions  will  be  found  to  correspond  to  the  develope- 
ment.  Dr.  Gall  conjectures,  that  in  these  cases  the  woman  will 
be  found  to  resemble  her  father,  and  the  man  his  mother,  unless 
this  peculiar  conformation  should  be  hereditary  in  the  family. 
There  are  men  thus  organized  who  have  a  particular  affection  for 
children,  and  in  whom  the  organs  of  Amativeness  and  Adhesiveness 
are  small, — who  bear  the  loss  of  an  affectionate  wife,  with  a 
resignation  which  appears  very  philosophic,  while  the  death  of  an 
infant  plunges  them  into  a  deep  and  lasting  grief  The  want  of 
children  is  with  such  men  a  constant  source  of  uneasiness,  and 
often  this  circumstance  causes  them  to  treat  with  unkindness  a 
partner  exceedingly  estimable  in  all  other  respects. 

Dr.  Gall  observes,  that  we  find  this  organ  more  developed  in 
some  mothers  than  in  others.  It  is  generally  large  in  Negroes; 
and  infanticide  is  a  crime  almost  unknown  among  that  variety  of 
the  species.  Persons  well  acquainted  with  their  character  assure 
us,  that  they  never  heard  of  such  a  crime  committed  by  a  black. 
The  organ  is  commonly  well  developed  even  in  male  Negroes; 
aiid  we  find  that  Negro  men  often  consent  to  take  charge  of  child- 


PHILOPROGENITIVENESS.  121 

ren.  Travellers  report  that  the  Tungusians  and  the  inhabitants  of 
North  America  are  singularly  fond  of  their  children.  Dr.  Gall 
mentions,  that,  in  the  skulls  of  two  Tungusians  and  a  North 
American  Indian,  which  he  had  seen  at  Gottingen  in  the  collection 
of  Professor  Blumenbach,  this  organ  was  large.  Dr.  Murray  Pat- 
erson  states,  that  the  Hindoos,  both  male  and  female,  are  highly 
endowed  with  this  feeling; — it  is  manifested  by  them,  he  says,  "  in 
their  predilection  for  domestic  quiet;  in  the  happiness  they  seem 
to  feel  when  surrounded  by  their  children;  in  the  spirit  of  their 
lullabies,  and  in  their  frequent  and  ardent  embraces."  Out  of 
twelve  Hindoo  skulls  originally  in  the  possession  of  the  Phrenolo- 
gical Society,  eleven  have  this  organ  largely  developed,  and  only 
one  moderately  so,  and  subsequent  additions  show  the  same  result. 
The  feeling  in  question,  so  necessary  for  the  preservation  and 
continuance  of  the  species,  is  found  strong  in  the  most  savage 
tribes.  The  organ  is  decidedly  large,  even  in  the  casts  of  the 
skulls  of  the  Caribs,  unquestionably  the  most  unfavorably  organized, 
in  other  respects,  of  all  the  races  of  which  we  possess  any  know- 
ledge. Out  of  five  casts  of  Carib  skulls  in  the  _===„,=_=__,,,=^ 
Phrenological  Society's  collection,  one  has 
the  organ  very  large,  three  have  it  large,  and 
the  remaining  one  rather  full.  This  tribe  ap- 
pears, from  their  cerebral  developement,  and  1,  ,  ^b,-- [«-<(.- »f.Kv-  •, 
the  accounts  ot  travellers  and  historians  with     —  ""•-■^ 

regard  to  their  manners  and  character,  to  be  endued  with  the 
most  brutal  ferocity,  totally  unregulated  either  by  benevolence  or 
intellect;  and,  unless  they  possessed  an  instinctive  propensity, 
prompting  them  to  take  care  of  their  children,  they  would  soon 
become  extinct,  without  the  intervention  of  famine,  pestilence,  or 
an  exterminating  enemy.  A  satisfactory  answer  is  here  afforded  to 
those  cavillers,  who  object  that  there  is  no  necessity  for  such  a 
propensity  as  this,  as  the  feeling  of  Benevolence  alone  would  be 
sufficient  to  prompt  parents  to  bestow  the  requisite  care  on  their 
offspring.  We  have  only  to  point  to  the  Caribs,  and  say,  What 
reliance  could  be  placed  on  the  benevolence  of  such  beings.''  And 
yet  they  show  attachment  to  their  young,  and  submit  to  the 
16 


122  PHILOPROGENITIVENESS. 

inconveniences  of  rearing  them,  amidst  all  the  toils,  privations,  and 
hardships,  that  abound  in  savage  life. 

This,  like  the  other  cerebral  organs,  is  liable  to  disease,  and 
derangement  in  the  manifestations  of  the  propensity  is  the  conse- 
quence. Sometimes  the  most  painful  anxiety  is  felt  about  children, 
without  any  adequate  external  cause,  and  this  arises  from  involun- 
tary activity  of  the  organ. 

Dr.  Andrew  Combe  attended  a  woman,  while  laboring  under  a 
temporary  alienation  of  mind,  whose  constant  exclamations  during 
three  days,  which  the  fit  lasted,  were  about  her  children  —  she 
imagined  that  they  were  in  distress,  murdered,  carried  away, 
exposed  to  every  calamity.  On  recovery  she  complained  of 
having  a  pain  in  the  hind  part  of  her  head  during  the  attack,  point- 
ing to  the  situation  of  Philoprogenitiveness;  but  she  had  no  other 
recollection  of  what  had  passed.  She  was  altogether  unacquainted 
with  Phrenology. 

Dr.  Gall  mentions  a  case  of  a  woman  in  the  great  hospital  at 
Vienna,  who  was  seized  with  a  very  peculiar  kind  of  madness — 
maintaining  that  she  was  about  to  be  delivered  of  six  children. 
He  was  led,  by  his  previous  observations,  to  conjecture  that  this 
hallucination  was  owing  in  part  to  a  great  developement,  and  partly 
to  an  over-excitement  of  the  organ  of  Philoprogenitiveness.  The 
patient  died,  and  he  mentions  that  the  developement  of  this  organ 
in  her  head  was  quite  extraordinary.  The  posterior  lobes  of  the 
brain  not  only  overhung  the  cerebellum  more  than  is  usual  in 
females,  but  were  rounded  and  voluminous  in  a  very  remarkable 
degree.  At  Paris,  Dr.  Gall  attended  a  young  lady  of  perfect 
modesty,  who  labored  under  mental  disease.  She  lived  in  the 
best  society,  and  went  to  Vienna  accompanied  by  some  most 
respectable  friends.  She  had  hardly  arrived,  when  she  ran  to  all 
her  acquaintances,  and  announced  to  them,  with  the  most  lively 
joy  and  in  the  openest  manner,  that  she  was  pregnant.  The  cir- 
cumstances of  this  declaration,  and  the  known  character  of  the 
lady,  were  sufficient  to  lead  her  friends  to  conclude  her  to  be 
insane.  In  a  short  time  her  joy  gave  place  to  anguish  of  mind, 
and  to  a  mournful  and  invincible  taciturnity.     Soon  afterwards  she 


PHILOPROGENITIVENESS.  123 

died  of  consumption.  In  her,  also,  this  organ  was  extremely 
developed;  and  during  her  life  she  had  been  remarkable  for  her 
love  of  children.  In  the  Lunatic  Hospital  at  Amsterdam,  Drs. 
Gall  and  Spurzheim  saw  a  female  patient,  who  spoke  of  nothing 
but  of  being  with  child,  though  no  such  thing  was  the  case.  Her 
head  was  small,  and  the  organ  of  Philoprogenitiveriess  alone  was 
very  largely  developed.  In  another  hospital  for  lunatics,  they 
saw  a  man  who  maintained  that  he  was  with  child  of  twins.  They 
announced  that  he  ought  to  have  this  organ  large,  and,  on  exam- 
ining his  head,  found  it  to  be  so.  These  cases  of  the  diseased 
state  of  the  organ,  add  to  the  already  numerous  proofs  that  this  is 
an  original  and  a  special  propensity. 

Dr.  Gall  relates,  that  he  has  examined,  with  all  the  attention 
in  his  power,  the  skulls  of  birds,  from  the  smallest  up  to  the 
greatest,  and  of  raammiferous  animals,  from  the  shrewmouse  to  the 
elephant,  and  has  found  throughout,  that,  in  the  females,  the  cere- 
bral part,  which  corresponds  to  the  organ  of  Philoprogenitiveness 
in  the  human  species,  is  more  developed  than  in  the  males.  He 
says,  that  if  there  had  been  presented  to  him,  in  water,  the  fresh 
brains  of  two  adult  animals  of  any  species,  one  male  and  the  other 
female,  he  could  have  distinguished  the  two  sexes.  In  the  male, 
the  cerebellum  is  larger  and  the  posterior  lobes  of  the  brain  are 
smaller.  In  the  female,  on  the  contrary,  the  cerebellum  is  smaller, 
and  the  posterior  lobes,  or  the  convolutions  connected  with  this 
function,  are  larger  and  longer.  When  these  two  organs  are  dis- 
tinctly marked  in  the  cranium,  the  two  sexes  may  be  distinguished 
by  the  simple  inspection  of  the  skull.  In  those  species  where  the 
sexes  differ  very  much  in  their  regard  for  their  young,  the  crania 
differ  sometimes  so  much  in  their  form,  that  they  have  been  placed 
in  collections  as  belonging  to  different  varieties  of  the  same  species, 
though  in  fact  they  belonged  to  individuals  of  the  same  variety,  but 
of  different  sexes. 

Dr.  Gall  adduces  innumerable  facts  in  support  of  this  propo- 
sition; but  as  these  can  hardly  be  made  intelligible,  without  the 
assistance  of  plates,  I  must  refer  those  who  wish  to  pursue  this 
inquiry  to  his  work,  to  that  of  Mons.  Vimont,  and  to  observations 


124 


PHILOPROGENITIVENESS. 


in  nature,  in  pursuing  it,  the  utmost  patience  and  attention  are 
necessary,  in  order  to  avoid  mistakes.  Tlie  differences  will  be 
found  uniformly  greatest  in  those  species  of  which  the  males  pay 
no  regard  to  their  young;  but  it  requires  a  practised  eye  and  great 
attention,  to  discern  the  difference  in  classes,  of  which  both  the 
male  and  female  bestow  care  on  their  offspring.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  marked  difference  in  this  respect,  even  in  females  of  the 
same  species,  who  are  fondest  of  their  young.  Every  cottager 
knows,  and  can  distinguish  in  her  poultry-yard,  particular  female 
fowls,  ducks,  geese,  and  turkeys,  who  cover  their  eggs  and  bring 
up  their  young  ones  with  the  greatest  care,  while  there  are  others 
who  spoil  their  nests,  and  neglect  or  abandon  their  young.  On 
comparing  the  heads  of  the  animals  who  show  these  opposite 
qualities,  a  decided  difference  of  conformation  will  be  found  in 
the  organ  of  Philoprogenitiveness. — Those,  therefore,  who  wish  to 
form  collections  with  this  view,  should  know  not  only  the  natural 
history  of  the  species,  but  the  peculiar  disposition  of  the  indi- 
viduals selected. 

Almost  all  metaphysical  writers  admit  the  Love  of  Children  as 
an  instinctive  propensity  of  the  human  mind.  Phrenological  obser- 
vation points  out  the  organ,  and  the  effects  of  its  different  degrees 
of  developement,  and  also  of  its  healthy  and  sound  state,  on  the 
manifestations  of  the  feeling;  and  to  this  extent  adds  to  the  stock 
of  general  knowledge.  The  following  cuts  represent  the  organ 
ferge  and  small  :  It  is  marked  No.  2. 


Large  Philoprogenitiveness. 


Small  Philoprogenitiveness. 


It  is  proper  to  bear  in  mind,  that  these  and  all  o^her  contrasts, 
are  given  in  this  work  not  to  prove  Phrenology  to  be  true,  but 
merely  to  represent  the  appearances  of  the  organs  in  different 
degrees  of  developement. — Established. 


CONCENTRATIVENESS.  125 


3. — -CONCENTRATIVENESS 


The  organ  is  situated  immediately  above  Philoprogenitiveness, 
and  below  Self-Esteem.  A  bony  excrescence  of  the  suture 
sometimes  presents  itself  at  this  part,  which  may  be  mistaken  for 
the  organ  of  Concentrativeness  ;  but  the  former  is  much  narrower 
and  more  pointed  than  the  elevation  caused  by  the  latter,  when  it 
is  large.  A  cerebral  convolution  in  each  hemisphere  runs  along 
the  top  of  the  corpus  callosum,  from  the  organs  of  Concentra- 
tiveness and  Self-Esteem,  to  the  intellectual  organs  in  the  frontal 
lobe. 

Observation  proves  that  this  is  a  distinct  organ,  because  it  is 
sometimes  found  large,  when  the  organs  of  Philoprogenitiveness 
and  Self-Esteem  lying  below  -and  above  it  are  small,  and  sometimes 
small  when  these  are  large.  Dr.  Gall  did  not  discover  its  function. 
Dr.  Spurzheim  observed  it  to  be  large  in  those  animals  and  persons 
who  seemed  attached  to  particular  places.  "  I  consider,"  says 
he,  "  in  animals,  the  cerebral  part  immediately  above  the  organ  of 
Philoprogenitiveness,  as  the  organ  of  the  instinct  that  prompts 
them  to  select  a  peculiar  dwelling,  and  call  it  the  organ  of  Inhabi- 
tiveness.  My  attention  has  been  and  is  still  directed  to  such 
individuals  of  the  human  kind  as  show  a  particular  disposition  in 
regard  to  their  dwelHng-place.  Some  nations  are  extremely  attach- 
ed to  their  country,  while  others  are  readily  induced  to  migrate. 
Some  tribes  wander  about  without  fixed  habitations,  while  others 
have  a  settled  home.  Mountaineers  are  commonly  much  attached 
to  their  native  soil,  and  those  of  them  who  visit  capitals  or  foreign 
countries,  seem  chiefly  led  by  the  hope  of  gaining  money  enough 
to  return  home,  and  buy  a  little  properly,  even  though  the  land 
should  be  dearer  there  than  elsewhere.  I  therefore  invite  the 
phrenologists,  who  have  an  opportunity  of  visiting  various  nations 
particularly  fond  of  their  country,  to  examine  the  developement  of 
the  organ  marked  No.  III.,  and  situated  immediately  above  Philo- 
progenitiveness. In  all  civilized  nations  some  individuals  have  a 
great    predilection  for  residing    in    the    country.       If   professional 


126  CONCENTRATIVENESS, 

pursuits  oblige  them  to  live  in  town,  their  endeavor  is  to  collect 
a  fortune  as  speedily  as  possible,  that  they  may  indulge  their 
leading  propensity.  I  have  examined  the  heads  of  several  indi- 
viduals of  this  description,  and  found  the  parts  in  question  much 
developed." — Phrenology-,  p.  169.  The  function,  however,  is 
stated  by  him  as  only  conjectural.  From  a  number  of  observa- 
tions, the  faculty  appears  to  me  to  have  a  more  extensive  sphere 
of  action  than  that  assigned  to  it  by  Dr.  Spurzheim. 

Some  persons  possess  a  natural  consciousness  of  every  thing 
that  goes  on  in  their  own  minds,  in  which  power  others  seem  to 
be  remarkably  deficient.  The  former  can  detain  their  feelings  and 
ideas,  and  deliberately  examine  their  character  and  consistency  ; 
the  latter  cannot  do  this  ;  their  minds  are  like  the  surface  of  a 
mirror,  on  which  each  feeling  and  thought  appears  like  the  shadow 
of  a  moving  object,  making  a  momentary  impression,  and  passing 
away.  They  experience  great  difficulty  in  detaining  their  emotions 
and  ideas,  so  as  to  examine  and  compare  them  ;  and,  in  conse- 
quence, are  little  capable  of  taking  systematic  views  of  any  subject, 
and  of  concentrating  their  powers  to  bear  on  one  point.  I  have 
observed  this  organ  to  be  large  in  the  former  and  small  in  the  latter. 

It  is  difficult  to  describe  in  words  the  manner  of  a  man's  mind  ; 
but  the  difference  in  manifestation  is  so  great  between  those  in 
whom  this  organ  is  small,  and  those  in  whom  it  is  large,  that,  if 
once  comprehended,  it  will  always  be  recognised.  In  conversing 
with  some  individuals,  we  find  them  fall  naturally  into  a  connected 
train  of  thinking  ;  either  dwelling  on  a  subject  which  interests  them, 
till  they  have  placed  it  clearly  before  the  mind,  or  passing  naturally 
and  gracefully  to  a  connected  topic.  Such  persons  uniformly  have 
this  organ  large.  We  meet  with  others,  who,  in  similar  circum- 
stances, never  pursue  one  idea  for  two  consecutive  seconds,  who 
shift  from  topic  to  topic,  without  regard  to  natural  connexion,  and 
leave  no  distinct  impression  on  the  mind  of  the  listener  ;  and  this 
happens  even  with  individuals  in  whom  reflection  is  uot  deficient ; 
but  this  organ  is  in  such  persons  uniformly  small.  I  have  met  a 
military  officer,  with  LocaUty  and  Concentrativeness  both  large, 
who  declared  that  he  liked  the  stirring  and  diffuse  life  of  a  soldier, 


CONCENTRATIVENESS.  127 

while  engaged  iu  active  operations  ;  but  that  when  the  army  hahed, 
he  was  equally  pleased,  and  found  equal  facility  in  concentrating 
his  mind  to  reading,  writing,  or  business,  and  was  not  annoyed  by 
that  dissipation  of  intellect  of  which  many  of  his  brother  officers 
complained.  On  the  other  hand,  a  gentleman  bred  to  the  profes- 
sion of  the  law,  who  has  this  organ  rather  deficient,  declares  that 
the  effort  of  concentrated  thinking  is  to  him  painful,  although  he 
has  excellent  Comparison,  Causality,  and  Language. 

The  question  occurs,  What  is  the  primitive  feeling  which  gives 
rise  to  these  phenomena  .''  The  first  idea  that  led  me  to  the  con- 
clusion, that  it  is  the  tendency  to  concentrate  the  mind  within  itself, 
and  to  direct  its  powers  in  a  combined  effort  to  one  object,  was 
suggested  by  a  lady,  who  had  remarked  this  quality  in  individuals 
in  whom  the  organ  was  large.  The  Rev.  David  Welsh  and  Dr. 
Hoppe  of  Copenhagen,  having  been  informed  of  these  views, 
unknown  to  each  other,  communicated  to  me  the  inference,  that 
the  faculty  gives  a  tendency  to  dwell  in  a  place,  or  on  feelings  and 
ideas,  for  a  length  of  time,  till  all,  or  the  majority,  of  the  other 
faculties  are  satisfied  in  regard  to  them.  Both  of  these  phrenolo- 
gists acquiesce  in  the  manifestations  being  such  as  I  have  described 
them,  when  the  organ  is  large  or  small.  An  excellent  letter  on 
this  subject  appeared  in  the  Phrenological  Journal,  vol.  iii.  p.  193, 
from  the  pen  of  an  anonymous  author,  and  contains  many  valuable 
remarks  on  the  ultimate  principle  of  the  faculty,  and  I  avail  myself 
of  it  with  pleasure.     The  following  are  extracts. 

'"If  we  consider  the  human  mind,'  says  Mr.  Hume  in  his 
Dissertation  on  the  Passions,  '  we  shall  observe  that,  with  regai'd 
to  the  passions,  it  is  not  hke  a  wind-instrument  of  music,  which, 
in  running  over  all  the  notes,  immediately  loses  the  sound  when 
the  breath  ceases;  but  rather  resembles  a  string-instrument,  where, 
after  each  stroke,  the  vibrations  still  retain  some  sound,  which 
gradually  and  insensibly  decays.'  From  this  he  infers,  that  when 
an  object,  which  occasions  a  variety  of  emotions,  is  presented  to 
the  mind,  each  impulse  will  not  produce  a  clear  and  distinct  note 
of  passion,  but  the  one  passion  will  always  be  mixed  and  con- 
founded with  the  other.     In  his  observations  on  the  laws    of  the 


128  CONCENTRATIVENESS. 

suggesting  principle,  Dr.  Thomas  Brown  remarks  the  sanae  fact,  of 
permanence  or  co-existence,  as  taking  place  in  our  mental  concep- 
tions in  general,  when  associated  with  the  interest  of  any  mental 
emotion.  'I  look  at  a  volume  on  my  table,'  says  he,  'it  recalls  to 
me  the  friend  from  whom  I  received  it, — the  remembrance  of  him 
suggests  to  me  the  conception  of  his  family,- -of  an  evening  which 
I  spent  with  them, — and  of  various  subjects  of  our  conversation. 
Yet  the  conception  of  my  friend  may  continue,  mingled  indeed 
with  various  conceptions,  as  they  rise  successively,  but  still  co- 
existing with  them.  '*  Dr.  Brown  proceeds,  with  the  felicity  and 
ingenuity  which  so  generally  distinguish  liis  writings,  to  explain 
how  this  co-existence  of  ideas  gives  us  the  capacity  of  prosecuting 
with  steadmess  a  mental  design  or  plan  of  thought.  His  words 
cannot  be  abridged  without  doing  injustice  to  his  meaning.  '  When 
we  sit  down,'  he  says,  'to  study  a  particular  subject,  we  must 
have  a  certain  conception,  though  probably  a  dim  and  shadowy 
one,  of  the  subject  itself.  To  study  it,  however,  is  not  to  have 
that  conception  alone,  but  to  have  successively  various  concep- 
tions, its  relations  to  which  we  endeavor  to  trace.  The  con- 
ception of  our  particular  subject,  therefore,  must,  in  the  very  first 
stage  of  our  progress,  suggest  some  other  conception.  But  this 
second  suggestion,  if  it  alone  were  present,  having  various  relations 
of  its  own,  as  well  as  its  relation  to  the  subject  which  suggested  it, 
would  probably  excite  a  third  conception,  which  had  no  reference 
to  the  original  subject, — and  this  third  a  fourth, — and  thus  a  whole 
series,  all  equally  unrelated  to  the  subject  which  we  wish  to  study. 
It  would  hence  seem  impossible  to  think  of  the  same  subject  even 
for  a  single  minute.  Yet  we  know  that  the  fact  is  very  different, 
and  that  we  often  occupy  whole  hours  in  this  manner,  v/ithout  any 
remarkable  deviation  from  our  original  design.  Innumerable  con- 
ceptions, indeed,  arise  during  this  time,  but  all  more  or  less 
intimately  related  to  the  subject,  by  the  continued  conception  of 
which  they  have  every  appearance  of  being  suggested ',  and  if  it  be 
allowed  that  the  conception  of  a  particular  subject  both  suggests 
trains    of  conceptions,  and   continues  to  exist  together  with   the 

*  Lectures,  vol.  ii.  p.  303. 


CONCENTRATIVENESS  129 

conceptions    which    it   has    suggested,    every    tnmg    for    which   I 
contend  in  the  present  case  is  implied  in  tlie  admission.' 

"I  apprehend,"  says  the  writer  in  the  Journal,  "that  this 
principle  suggests  the  true  metaphysical  theory.  If  we  conceive 
that  the  simple  function  of  tliis  faculty  is  to  give  Duration  or  fixity 
to  whatever  conceptions  or  emotions  occupy  the  mind,  the  various 
operations  ascribed  to  Concentrativeness  will  flow  from  that  func- 
tion as  from  an  elementary  principle.  In  Mr.  Combe's  work 
lately  published,*  the  'primitive  feeling,'  which  gives  rise  to  the 
phenomena  of  Concentrativeness,  is  said  to  be,  '  the  tendency  to 
concentrate  the  mind  within  itself,  and  to  direct  its  powers  in  a 
combined  effort  to  one  object.'  This,  however,  maybe  consid- 
ered rather  as  a  description  of  the  operation  of  the  power,  than  a 
statement  of  the  primary  element  to  which  its  phenomena  may 
be  traced.  If  we  attend  to  what  passes  in  our  minds  when  we 
endeavor  to  concentrate  our  thoughts  upon  a  subject,  we  shall  find 
that  we  do  not  attempt  any  direct  coercion  on  our  different  facul- 
ties, but  simply  endeavor  to  seize  upon  the  object  of  thought,  and 
keep  it  steadily  before  the  mind.  We  are  all  occasionally  con- 
scious of  ineffectual  efforts  of  attention;  if  we  examine  what  we  do 
on  such  occasions,  we  shall  find  that  it  consists  in  an  attempt  to 
think  of  some  subject  which  is,  for  the  moment,  less  attractive 
than  some  other  objects  which  are  the  causes  of  distraction.  An 
effective  concentration  of  the  faculties  takes  place  only  when  the 
original  leading  conceptions  are  of  themselves  powerful  and  perma- 
nent; and  the  concentration  will  be  found,  consequently,  to  be 
most  perfect  when  there  is  least  effort  to  produce  it.  We  are 
sensible  of  this  on  occasions  which  may  be  either  painful  or  pleas- 
ant; when  a  subject,  associated  with  strong  emotion,  has  taken 
possession  of  the  mind;  and  when  we  find  ourselves  incapable  of 
banishing  from  our  thoughts,  even  though  very  desirous  of  doing 
so,  the  train  of  conceptions  which  has  so  strongly  concentrated  our 
powers  upon  itself,  and  continues  to  keep  them  in  a  state  of 
sustained  and  perhaps  distressing  activity.  We  speak  of  our  minds 
having  the  command  of  our  ideas.     This  may  be  correct  enough 

*  System  of  Phrenology,  1825. 
17 


130  CONCENTRATIVENESS. 

in  popular  language ;  but,  philosophically  speaking,  our  ideas  com- 
mand our  minds.  And  even  in  those  cases  which  appear  most 
hke  exceptions  to  this  principle,  it  will  be  found,  on  examination, 
that  it  is  merely  one  class  of  ideas  assuming  the  predominance 
over  another.  When  we  voluntarily  change  our  train  of  thought, 
or  endeavor  to  concentrate  our  minds  upon  a  subject,  the  process 
is  one  in  which,  under  an  impression  of  the  necessity  or  expedi- 
ency of  attending  to  the  particular  subject,  we  pass  from  the  train 
of  irrelevant  ideas,  and  endeavor  to  reach,  by  the  aid  of  our  asso- 
ciations, the  subject  which  we  wish  to  study.  Almost  every 
individual  is  capable  of  this  single  effort,  and  he  may  repeat  it 
again.  But  that  uninterrupted  sustaining  of  the  attention  so  given, 
which  constitutes  Concentrativeness,  depends  on  a  quality  distinct 
from  efforts  of  attention, — a  quality  most  strongly  marked  where 
least  effort  is  necessary, — and  that  is  simply  the  property  which 
this  mental  power  possesses  of  giving  continuance  to  thoughts  and 
feelings  when  they  have  sprung  up  in  the  mind.  This  property 
appears  to  exist  in  different  degrees  in  different  minds;  to  which, 
of  course,  the  diversity  in  the  manifestations  of  Concentrativeness, 
with  which  we  are  so  often  presented,  is  to  be  mainly  attributed. 

"It  is  not  difficult  to  see  in  what  way  this  property  of  perma- 
nence operates  in  producing  the  various  peculiarities  of  a  concen- 
trative  turn  of  mind.  It  is  a  law  of  thought  which  all  systems  of 
mental  philosophy  recognise,  although  they  may  explain  it  differ- 
ently, that  a  conception  or  feeling,  when  present  to  the  mind, 
naturally  acts  in  calling  up  other  conceptions  and  feelings  of  the 
same  class.  Ideas  of  Causality  call  forth  other  ideas  of  Causality; 
emotions  of  Benevolence  or  Destructiveness  are  followed  by  trains 
of  conceptions  associated  by  sympathy  with  the  previous  mental 
state.  If,  then,  one  predominating  conception  or  feeling  be  held 
before  the  mind  by  the  force  of  a  strong  Concentrativeness,  the 
mental  action  just  described  will  of  necessity  be  greatly  enhanced. 
The  secondary  conceptions  will  react  upon  the  original,  increasing 
the  intensity  of  thought  and  feeling,  and  adding  to  the  excitement 
of  the  mind.  A  more  extensive  range  of  ideas,  all  bearing  the 
same  kindred  character,  will  thus  be  brought  into  view;  and  while 


CONCENTRATIVENESS.  131 

the  intellect,  seizing  from  a  distance  the  point  to  be  pursued, 
arranges  its  materials  on  such  a  plan  as  is  best  adapted  to  attain  it,  it 
is  at  the  same  time  prepared  for  executing  the  design  with  greater 
strength  of  conception,  or,  as  the  nature  of  the  subject  may- 
require,  with  a  tone  of  more  powerful  emotion.  The  effect  of 
this  concentration  naturally  extends  to  the  active  powers  in  cases 
where  their  co-operation  is  necessary;  the  associated  vohtions  flow 
more  readily  along  with  the  mental  train,  and  participate  in  the 
harmony  of  all  the  other  faculties. 

"  In  perfect  consistency  with  this  view,  we  find  that  any  cir- 
cumstance which  gives  permanence  to  an  emotion  independently 
of  Concentrativeness,  produces  the  same  effect.  The  continued 
presence  of  a  cause  of  provocation  will  excite  Destructiveness  to 
a  greater  excess  of  passion.  Large  Cautiousness,  along  with  defi- 
cient Hope,  will  give  a  permanent  tinge  to  all  the  mental  feelings; 
and,  when  excited  by  disease,  may  so  completely  fill  the  mind 
with  their  gloomy  suggestions,  as  to  render  it  inaccessible  to  every 
idea  of  a  brighter  complexion.  Every  sentiment,  whatever  its 
character  may  be,  casts  its  own  peculiar  light  over  the  mental 
prospects;  and  the  objects  beheld  reflect  that  light  alone  to  the 
mind,  whether  it  be  the  splendor  of  our  more  bright  and  joyous 
feelings,  or  the  fiercer  glow  of  the  destructive  passions,  or  the 
sombre  illumination  of  a  more  melancholy  mood. 

"  It  occurs  to  me  that  the  amount  of  this  power,  in  the  composi- 
tion of  intellectual  character,  has  not  been  fully  estimated  by  phren- 
ologists. Independently  of  Phrenology  altogether,  the  varieties 
of  mental  constitution  cannot,  I  think,  be  satisfactorily  accounted 
for,  but  by  supposing  that  Concentrativeness  is  an  original  element 
of  mind,  varying  in  force  in  different  individuals.  In  connecting 
this  power  with  the  cerebral  organ,  phrenologists  have  proceeded 
upon  experience  ;  and  so  far  as  my  limited  observation  has  gone,  I 
have  been  gratified  by  the  remarkable  coincidences  which  it  has 
presented  between  fact  and  this  part  of  the  system.  The  following 
remarks  have  been  suggested  by  observation,  and  are  not  merely 
speculative  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  they  are  submitted,  to  be  set 
aside  or  confirmed  as  to  their  phrenological  accuracy  by  the  more 
extensive  observations  of  our  veteran  phrenologists. 


13^  CONCENTRATIVENESS. 

"  What  is  the  result  of  extreme  defect  in  this  organ  I  have 
had  no  opportunity  of  knowing.  Deficiency,  in  the  more  ordinary 
degrees,  discovers  itself  in  different  ways,  according  to  its  com- 
bination with  other  faculties.  In  some  individuals  it  produces  an 
indisposition  to  settle  into  any  regular  plan  of  life;  or,  if  this  has 
been  controlled  by  circumstances  and  other  faculties,  there  may  still 
be  seen  a  want  of  method,  forethought,  and  continuity,  in  the 
various  concerns  of  intercourse  or  business.  The  individual  does 
not  appear  like  one  driving  constantly  towards  a  particular  object ; 
his  mind  takes  Its  direction  from  shifting  circumstances;  and  if  other 
faculties  conspire,  he  may  be  characterized  by  a  sort  of  careless 
facility  or  vivacity  of  disposition.  Should  these  appearances  be 
restrained  by  large  Cautiousness  and  Firmness,  while  the  reflecting 
organs  at  the  same  time  are  full,  the  manifestations  of  the  deficiency 
will  be  considerably  different.  There  may  be  a  propensity  to 
reason,  and  possibly  to  deal  in  abstract  speculation  ;  while  the 
individual  will  exhibit,  in  his  attempts  at  argument,  a  degree  of 
cloudiness  and  ambiguity  of  conception,  which  evidently  results 
from  an  incapacity  of  holding  up  distinctly  before  his  mental  vision 
the  subject  of  thought. 

"  We  occasionally  find  persons  with  large  reflecting  organs, 
whom  we  are  surprised  to  observe  little  given  to  sustained  reason- 
ing or  philosophical  speculation.  The  writer  has  noticed  some 
such,  with  Causality  and  Wit  both  large,  while  he  has  had  reason 
either  to  know  or  to  suspect,  that  the  organ  of  Concentrativeness 
was  considerably  deficient.  The  intellectual  perceptions  of  such 
appeared  to  be  strong  and  rapid,  and  possessed  the  momentary 
brilliancy  imparted  by  Ideality,  or  the  energy  derived  from  a  large 
Combativeness.  But  the  mental  action  was  never  sustained  ;  the 
energy  ceased  when  its  impression  had  just  been  felt  by  the  auditor; 
and  the  decisions  of  Causality  and  Wit  were  never  prolonged  into 
a  train  of  connected  argument.  They  came  to  their  conclusions  by 
judgments,  and  not  by  ratiocination.  Whatever  could  be  seen  at 
a  glance  or  two,  they  perceived,  and  often  with  much  perspicacity 
and  originality;  but  they  failed  in  every  thing  requiring  the  investi- 
gation of  abstract  principles  or  logical  deduction.     They  excelled 


CONCENTRATIVENESS.  133 

in  whatever  admitted  of  succession  and  variety  of  remark,  but 
were  unsuccessful  where  a  single  point  was  to  be  kept  in  view,  and 
carried  by  argument.  They  were  better  orators  than  writers,  and 
more  powerful  still  in  conversation  than  in  prolonged  oratory.  It 
might  be  that  they  argued  well  in  conversational  controversy;  but 
this  was  because  the  successive  replies  of  the  debate  broke  the 
reasoning  into  steps,  if  I  may  say  so,  and  always  presented  a  nevir 
point  for  immediate  judgment. — All  this  appears  to  be  the  natural 
consequence  of  a  deficient  Concentrativeness.  We  must  observe, 
however,  that  such  a  mind,  when  its  faculties  are  under  the  influ- 
ence of  strong  excitement,  may  exhibit  a  degree  of  unity  and 
sustainedness  of  thought  beyond  what  is  usual  to  it  at  other 
moments  ; — ^but  this  would  prove  nothing  against  an  actual  defi- 
ciency in  Concentrativeness.  All  possess  the  quality  in  some 
degree,  and,  of  course,  on  occasions  of  greater  excitement,  its 
power  will  be  augmented.  And  still  it  may  be  said,  that  if  great 
Concentrativeness  were  placed  in  the  same  circumstances,  its 
manifestations  would  be  still  more  remarkable. 

"Full  or  large  Concentrativeness  gives  rise  to  other  descrip- 
tions of  intellectual  character.  We  may  occasionally  observe  a 
class  of  persons,  who,  with  the  intellectual  organs  rather  poorly 
developed,  are  notwithstanding  great  dabblers  in  ai'gument.  They 
are  a  species  of  Lilliputian  gladiators,  who  are  perpetually  skir- 
mishing and  hair-splitting  with  all  about  them  in  behalf  of  certain 
favorite  opinions,  to  the  merits  of  which  few,  alas!  are  sensible  but 
themselves.  This  is  the  extreme  case,  but  various  modifications 
of  it  will  be  found.  The  probability  is,  that  in  all  such  the  faculty 
of  Concentrativeness  is  full;  it  may  be  seen,  indeed,  in  the  natural 
language  of  their  looks  and  gestures:  along  with  this,  Causality 
will  be  discovered  to  be  relatively  the  largest  of  their  intellectual 
faculties,  although  absolutely  small.  Their  reasonings  are  distin- 
guished by  two  qualities.  The  first  of  these  is  a  deficiency  of 
strength  and  breadth  in  the  conceptions  which  compose  them;  so 
that  their  track  is  something  like  the  lines  of  navigators'  courses 
in  the  charts,  remarkable  for  nothing  but  its  continuousness.  The 
second  is,  that  they  take  no  comprehensive  survey  of  the  general 


134  CONCENTRATIVENESS. 

principles  which  bear  upon  a  question;  but  having  the  power  of 
seeing  and  dissecting  that  which  is  immediately  before  them,  they 
work  onward  by  the  help  of  certain  little  formulae,  now  right,  and 
now  wrong,  till  they  strike  upon  some  palpable  absurdity,  some 
contradiction  to  more  general  principles  or  more  extensive  analo- 
gies. When  such  individuals  are  compared  with  persons  of  the 
former  class,  who  have  large  Causality,  and  yet  do  not  reason,  an 
apparent  contradiction  is  presented  to  the  phrenological  account 
of  Causality,  as  a  faculty  which  disposes  to  metaphysics,  and 
'  gives  the  perception  of  logical  consequences  in  argument. '  The 
contradiction  vanishes  when  we  connect  two  powers  together  as 
necessary  to  reasoning.  The  Causality  of  every  one  whose  mind 
is  sound,  is  capable  of  perceiving  the  relation  between  a  cause 
and  its  effect,  or  between  simple  premises  and  a  conclusion.  If 
Concentrativeness  be  added,  which  gives  the  power  of  keeping 
the  subject  of  thought  steadily  before  the  mind,  there  will  be  a 
capacity  for  pursuing  such  a  connected  series  of  judgments  as 
constitutes  reasoning.  In  mathematical  reasoning,  where  every 
term  has  a  definite  extension,  the  above  power  will  be  sufficient 
for  forming  sound  conclusions.  But,  in  the  investigation  of  moral 
subjects,  there  is  required  a  comprehensive  conception  of  the 
various  relations  of  each  term  or  principle  employed  in  our  deduc- 
tions; and  this  appears  to  be  the  property  of  a  large  Causality 
in  conjunction  with  the  knowing  organs; — the  former  giving  a 
powerful  memory  for  relations  previously  discovered,  and  the 
latter  supplying  the  materials  on  which  the  decisions  of  Causality 
are  founded.  In  both  of  these,  such  reasoners  as  we  speak  of  are 
deficient;  and  hence  their  speculations  want  the  elements  both  of 
strength  and  comprehensiveness  of  thought. 

"  When  full  Concentrativeness  is  joined  to  large  Causality  and 
Individuality,  the  power  of  philosophy  and  reasoning  appears  in 
its  greatest  perfection.  The  mind  is  at  once  possessed  of  large 
intellectual  resources,  and  is  capable  of  making  the  most  of  them 
by  its  power  of  collecting  its  conceptions  into  a  strong  mental 
picture,  and  conveying  them  with  the  full  force  of  a  sustained 
representation  to  the  minds  of  others.     The  effects  of  a  large 


CONCENTRATIVENESS.  135 

Causality  are  just  the  reverse  of  those  we  attributed  to  a  small. 
The  intellectual  picture  is  enlarged  in  its  dimensions,  is  more 
completely  filled  up  with  related  conceptions,  and  has  its  lines 
more  strongly  di'awn;  and,  along  with  this,  there  is  a  more  com- 
prehensive view  of  the  multiphed  connexions  which  the  subject 
of  thought  has  with  other  remoter  truths." 

The  styles  of  Tacitus  and  Grattan  appear  to  me  highly  charac- 
terized by  Concentrativeness,  while  that  of  Dugald  Stewart  is  so 
only  in  a  moderate  degree.  The  quality  is  much  more  conspic- 
uous in  the  poetry  of  Thomas  Campbell  and  Crabbe  than  in  that 
of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  It  seems  to  have  been  recognised  by 
the  late  Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  who  names  it  a  "  Comprehensive 
Energy,"  and  it  aboimds  in  his  own  wnritings. 

It  has  been  objected,  that  concentration  in  style  is,  in  many 
instances,  the  result  of  labor  and  condensation,  and  in  this  I  agree; 
but  before  an  author  will  bestow  pains  in  communicating  this  qual- 
ity to  liis  compositions,  he  must  have  a  relish  for  it  himself;  and 
this,  according  to  my  notion,  is  inspired  by  the  organ  in  question. 
The  object  of  his  exertions  is  to  bring  his  style  up  to  a  state  which 
pleases  his  own  faculties;  and  if  the  organ  be  small,  he  will  not 
find  pleasure  in  concentration  either  of  feehng  or  thought. 

It  has  been  said,  that  Individuality  and  Eventuality,  when  large, 
produce  the  effects  here  attributed  to  Concentrativeness;  but  I  am 
acquainted  vnth  a  literary  gentleman  in  whom  these  organs  are 
large,  and  Concentrativeness  deficient,  and  who  manifests  great 
knowledge  of  facts  and  details,  combined  with  deficiency  in  the 
power  of  keeping  them  continuously  before  his  own  mind,  so  as  to 
discover  their  relative  bearings  and  applications.  On  the  other 
hand,  I  am  acquainted  with  a  philosophical  author,  who  possesses 
large  Concentrativeness  with  deficient  Eventuality,  and  who  com- 
plains of  experiencing  great  difficulty  hi  acquiring  knowledge  of 
details,  who  requires  to  write  down  instantly  the  results  of  his 
reading  and  observations,  and  whose  knowledge  exists  in  his 
portfolio  more  than  in  his  brain,  but  who,  in  reproducing  his 
knowledge  as  an  author,  labors  incessantly  till  he  has  discovered 
its  natural  relations,  and  gives  it  forth  in  the  most  concentrated  and 


136  CONCENTRATIVENESS. 

systematic  form.  When  Comparison  and  Causality  are  large  in 
combination  with  large  Concentrativeness,  there  is  a  tendency  to 
systematize  knowledge  :  when  the  latter  is  deficient  this  is  not  felt ; 
and  I  regard  one  element  in  a  systematic  mind  to  be  the  power  of 
giving  continuousness  to  feelings  and  ideas,  thereby  enabling  die 
intellect  to  contemplate  the  relations  subsisting  among  them. 

According  to  this  account  of  the  faculty,  an  individual  may  have 
great  hking  for  a  particular  pursuit.  Botany,  for  example,  or  Phre- 
nology, if  he  possess  the  combination  of  faculties  which  takes 
pleasure  in  it ;  and  he  may  pursue  it  with  ardor,  and  nevertheless 
be  deficient  in  Concentrativeness.  I  know  such  persons,  but  all 
of  them  make  efforts,  collect  knowledge,  or  communicate  ideas, 
without  taking  a  comprehensive  and  concentrated  view  of  the 
objects  and  relations  about  which  they  treat.  Dr.  Spurzheim, 
however,  objects  to  my  ideas,  and  states,  that  his  experience  is 
in  contradiction  to  them.  Facts  alone  must  determine  between 
us.  At  the  same  time,  there  appears  to  be  nothing  in  the 
notions  of  Dr.  Spurzheim  concerning  Inhabit! veness,  inconsistent 
with  the  more  extensive  views  now  taken  of  the  functions  of  this 
faculty. 

It  has  been  objected  by  him,  that  "  Concentrativeness  cannot 
possibly  be  a  primitive  faculty,  since  it  can  neither  act  alone,  nor 
appear  diseased  singly;  and  since  its  very  existence  only  becomes 
apparent  by  the  presence  of  other  powers  directed  to  one  object." 
There  are  various  faculties  which  cannot  act  alone  :  thus,  Firmness 
presupposes  the  activity  of  other  powers,  we  persevere  in  passion, 
in  love,  in  hate,  ambhion,  or  in  study  ;  but  cannot  well  persevere 
in  mere  abstract  perseverance  :  Cautiousness  causes  us  to  fear  ;  but 
we  always  fear  something,  which  depends  on  other  faculties,  and 
rarely  experience  abstract  fear  itself.  Concentradveness,  therefore, 
is  not  singular  in  not  acting  alone. 

As  to  disease  of  Concentrativeness,  this  organ  appears  to  suffe"- 
in  those  lunatics  whose  attention  is  immovably  fixed  on  some 
internal  impression,  and  who  remain  absorbed  in  silent  and  pro- 
found meditation,  insensible  alike  to  the  threats  and  caresses  of 
those  around  them,  and  to  the  effects  of  external   objects.     They 


CONCENTRATIVENESS.  137 

differ  from  ordinary  monomaniacs  in  this,  that  the  latter,  with  cer- 
tain unsound  feelings  or  intellectual  perceptions,  or  with  unsound 
associations  on  the  presentment  of  certain  external  objects,  can  still 
direct  their  attention  to  other  feelings  or  ideas,  and  concerning  them 
can  hold  rational  conversation.  The  state  now  attributed  to  dis- 
eased Concentrativeness,  must  be  distinguished  also  from  one  for 
which  it  has  been  sometimes  mistaken,  viz.  dementia,  approaching 
to  idiocy,  in  which  a  fixed  look  and  silent  calmness  appear,  not 
from  internal  meditation,  but  from  utter  insensibihty  to  stimuli.  In 
disease  of  Concentrativeness,  the  patient  possesses  intense  con- 
sciousness, and,  when  cured,  is  able  to  give  an  account  of  all  that 
passed  in  his  mind  during  the  malady;  in  dementia^  the  period  of 
the  disease  forms  a  blank  in  existence,  the  individual  recollecting 
nothing.  Dr.  A.  Combe,  to  whom  I  owe  these  observations,  states, 
that  he  has  heard  Esquirol,  in  his  lectures  at  the  Salpetriere,  speak 
of  cases  such  as  those  now  described  ;  and  he  has  seen  examples 
which  proved  the  accuracy  of  his  account  of  them,  although,  owing 
to  the  function  not  having  been  discovered  at  the  time,  he  did  not 
observe  the  condition  of  this  particular  organ.  I  am  acquainted 
with  a  gentleman  in  whom  the  organ  is  large,  and  who,  while 
laboring  under  a  nervous  affection,  in  which  Cautiousness  and 
Conscientiousness  were  diseased,  experienced  a  feeling  as  if  the 
power  of  concentrating  his  mind  were  about  to  leave  him,  and  who 
used  vigorous  etTorts  to  preserve  it.  He  directed  his  attention 
to  an  object,  frequently  a  spire  at  the  end  of  a  long  street,  and 
resolutely  maintained  it  immovably  fixed  there  for  a  considerable 
length  of  time,  excluding  all  other  ideas  from  his  mind.  The 
consequence  was,  that  in  his  then  weak  state,  a  diseased  fixity  of 
mind  ensued,  in  which  feelings  and  ideas  stood  as  it  were  bound 
up  and  immovable,  and  thereafter  a  state  in  which  every  impres- 
sion and  emotion  was  floating  and  fickle  like  images  in  water. 
He  was  then  unacquainted  with  Phrenology,  but  knows  it  now, 
and  expresses  his  conviction  that  the  circumstances  detailed  were 
probably  referable  to  a  diseased  affection  of  the  organ  in  question. 

Dr.  Spurzheim  objects  farther,  that  "  no  one,  in  concentrating 
his  mind,  and  directing  his  powers  to  one  object,  exhibits  gestures 
IS 


138  CONCENTRATIVENESS. 

and  motions  indicating  activity  in  the  back  part  of  the  head ;  the 
whole  of  the  natural  language  shows,  that  concentration  takes  place 
in  the  forehead."  With  the  greatest  deference  to  Dr.  Spurzheim's 
superior  skill  and  accuracy,  I  take  the  liberty  of  stating,  that,  so 
far  as  my  own  observation  goes,  those  persons  who  really  possess 
the  power  of  concentration,  while  preparing  to  make  a  powerful 
and  combined  exertion  of  all  their  powers,  naturally  draw  the  head 
and  body  backwards  in  the  line  of  this  organ.  The  author  of 
Waverley  describes  this  as  the  attitude  of  concentrated  internal 
thinking.  Preachers  and  advocates  in  whom  it  is  large,  while 
speaking  with  animation,  move  the  head  in  the  line  of  Concentra- 
tiveness  and  Individuality,  or  straight  backwards  and  straight  for- 
wards. When  Combativeness  predominates  over  Concentrative- 
ness  in  a  pleader,  he  draws  his  head  backwards  and  to  the  side, 
in  the  line  of  Combativeness,  and  advances  it  in  a  corresponding 
direction. 

"This  organ,"  continues  Dr.  Spurzheim,  "is  also  commonly 
larger  in  women  than  in  men,  and  I  leave  every  one  to  decide 
upon  the  sex  which  supports  the  more  close  and  vigorous  atten- 
tion." In  Scotland,  and  I  may  almost  say  in  England,  although 
ray  observations  there  have  been  less  extensive,  this  is  not  the 
case ;  the  developement  being  larger  in  men  in  general  than  in 
women.  "  It  is  moreover,"  says  he,  "larger  in  Negroes  and  in 
the  Celtic  tribes  than  in  the  Teutonic  races ;  in  the  French,  for 
instance,  it  is  larger  than  in  the  Germans.  The  national  character 
of  these  nations  not  only  does  not  confirm  the  opinion  of  Mr. 
Combe,  but  is  in  direct  contradiction  to  it."  From  this  and  some 
other  objections  of  Dr.  Spurzheim,  which  I  pass  over  without 
comment,  I  am  convinced  that  he  has  not  correctly  apprehended 
the  quality  of  mind  which  I  designate  by  Concentrativeness.  This 
must,  no  doubt,  be  my  fault;  but  it  affords  a  good  reason  for 
not  prolonging  disputation.  So  far  as  my  knowledge  of  French 
literature  extends,  it  is  not  marked  by  deficiency  of  Concentra- 
tiveness. The  intellectual  range  of  the  French  is  limited,  but  no 
nation  attains  to  greater  perfection  within  the  sphere  which  their 
faculties  are  calculated  to  reach  :  they  write  the  best  elementary 


CONCENTRATIVENESS.  139 

works  on  science  of  any  people  of  Europe;  and  to  this  Concentra- 
tiveness  is  essential.  They  bring  their  powers  to  bear  in  a  regulat- 
ed manner  on  the  point  under  consideration,  and  present  it  clearly 
and  definitely  to  the  understanding.  The  Germans  have  more 
powerful  reflecting  faculties  than  the  French,  and  also  greater 
perseverance;  but,  if  I  may  judge  from  the  limited  knowledge  of 
their  literature  which  I  have  been  able  to  obtain,  they  appear 
inferior  to  them  in  Concentrativeness.  They  introduce  more 
frequently  extraneous  ideas  and  feelings,  and  do  not  present  so 
neat  and  complete  a  whole  in  their  compositions. 

In  regard  to  the  tendency  to  "  Inhabitiveness,"  I  conceive  that 
concentration  of  mind  is  favorable  to  this  tendency,  and  that  men 
and  animals,  whose  faculties  are  more  concentrated,  have  the 
greatest  inclination  to  remain  in  one  place;  besides,  animals  which 
browse  on  rocks,  and  which  place  their  nests  in  high  and  difficult 
situations,  or  by  the  banks  of  rapid  rivers,  would  require  for  their 
well-being  and  comfort  just  such  a  faculty  as  this,  which  should 
enable  them  to  maintain  their  position  with  ease,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  provide  for  their  food  and  safety.  The  eagle,  which  loves 
to  soar  aloft,  requires  certain  faculties  to  be  exerted  to  maintain 
his  equilibrium,  while  at  the  same  time  his  eye  darts  at  once  over 
a  great  expanse  "  through  the  azure  deep  of  air,"  to  discern  his 
prey  on  the  surface  of  the  earth.  There  are  farther  required  a 
concentration  and  simultaneous  action  of  numerous  faculties  in  the 
stoop  which  he  makes  upon  the  prey  itself,  and  in  pouncing  at 
once  upon  the  bird  or  lamb  which  he  has  selected  for  his  victim. 
Something  of  the  same  kind  is  required  in  the  water-fowl,  whose 
cradle  is  the  deep,  in  diving  for  his  food  through  the  waters.  The 
co-operation  of  all  his  powers  must  be  required  to  keep  him  in 
that  situation,  and  at  the  same  time  enable  him  to  secure  what  he 
wishes  for  food,  and  avoid  his  numerous  enemies.  In  this  way  1 
conceive  that  the  new  functions  attributed  to  this  organ  do  not 
supersede  the  old,  nor  imply  any  incorrectness  in  the  observations 
which  led  Dr.  Spurzheim  to  conjecture  its  uses;  at  the  same  time 
there  may  be  a  modification  in  the  faculty  itself  in  different  species 
of  animals,  which  may  determine  some  to  high  and  some  to  low 


140  ADHESIVENESS. 

situations  ;  while  in  man  it  may  be  a  more  general  faculty,  without 
determining  to  a  residence  of  any  particular  kind. 

The  strongest  expression  of  this  faculty  which  I  have  observed 
is  in  rope-dancers.  Their  countenances  show  a  great  internal 
effort  of  mental  concentration,  w'atching  and  directing  the  slightest 
motions  of  the  body ;  and  in  the  head  of  Ducrow,  of  which  the 
Phrenological  Society  has  a  cast,  the  organ  is  very  large.  He 
manifests  the  faculty  in  the  highest  degree. 

The  leading  object  of  these  discussions  is  to  enable  the  reader 
to  form  an  idea  of  the  mental  quality,  if  it  be  such,  intended  to  be 
designated  by  Concentrativeness,  so  that  he  may  be  able  to  decide 
on  the  function  of  the  organ  by  his  own  observations.  It  acts 
along  with  the  feelings  as  well  as  with  the  intellect,  and  prolongs 
emotions.  Abstract  reasoning  is  not  admitted  in  Phrenology  as 
proof  in  favor  of  any  organ  or  faculty  ;  and  I  have  observed  that, 
by  leading  the  mind  insensibly  to  adopt  a  conclusion  for  or  against 
particular  ideas,  it  produces  a  tendency  to  seek  support  for  opin- 
ions rather  than  truth,  and  thereby  retards  the  progress  of  accurate 
investigation. — The  function  is  stated  as  only  probable,  and  stands 
open  for  further  elucidation. 

4. ADHESIVENESS. 

This  organ  is  situated  at  the  middle  of  the  posterior  edge  of  the 
parietal  bone,  on  each  side  of  Concentrativeness,  higher  up  than 
Philoprogenitiveness,  and  just  above  the  lambdoidal  suture.  When 
very  large,  two  annular  protuberances  will  be  observed  there;  or  a 
general  fulness,  if  the  neighboring  organs  be  large;  when  small,  that 
part  of  the  head  is  narrow  or  depressed. 

Dr.  Gall  was  requested  to  mould  for  his  collection  the  head  of 
a  lady,  who  w-as  described  to  him  as  a  model  of  friendship.  He 
did  so,  more  through  complaisance,  than  in  expectation  cf  making 
any  discovery.  In  examining  the  head,  he  found  two  large  pro- 
minences, in  the  form  of  a  segment  of  a  circle,  on  the  sides  of  the 
organ  of  Philoprogenitiveness.  These  prominences,  which  he  had 
not  previously  observed,  were  symmetrical,  and  manifestly  formed 


ADHESIVENESS.  141 

by  part  of  the  brain  ;  and  he  therefore  concluded,  that  they  indi- 
cated organs  ;  but  the  question  was,  what  are  their  functions  ?  He 
inquired  at  the  friends  of  the  lady  concerning  her  dispositions  and 
talents,  and  also  obtained  her  own  opinion  of  the  feelings  and 
capacities  which  she  most  strongly  possessed.  All  the  information 
concurred  in  regard  to  the  fact,  that  she  was  distinguished  by 
inviolable  attachment  to  her  friends.  Although  at  different  periods 
of  her  Hfe,  her  fortune  had  undergone  great  changes,  and  on  several 
occasions  she  had  passed  from  poverty  to  riches,  her  affection  for 
her  former  friends  was  never  forgotten.  The  idea  naturally  pre- 
sented itself,  that  the  disposition  to  attachment  might  be  connected 
with  a  pai'ticular  part  of  the  brain.  This  inference  acquired  greater 
probability  from  the  circumstance,  that  the  prominences  on  the 
head  of  this  lady  were  placed  immediately  above  the  organ  of 
sexual  love,  and  on  the  two  sides  of  that  of  the  love  of  children, 
and  that  the  three  feelings  have  obviously  some  analogy  to  each 
other.  Many  subsequent  observations  confirmed  this  conjecture, 
and  the  organ  has  long  been  regarded  as  established. 

The  faculty  gives  the  instinctive  tendency  to  attachment,  and 
causes  us  to  experience  the  greatest  delight  in  a  return  of  affection. 
Those  in  whom  it  is  large,  feel  an  involuntary  impulse  to  embrace, 
and  cling  to  any  object  which  is  capable  of  experiencing  fondness. 
It  gives  ardor  and  a  firm  grasp  to  the  shake  with  the  hand.  In 
boys,  it  frequently  displays  itself  by  attachment  to  dogs,  rabbits, 
birds,  horses,  or  other  animals.  In  girls,  it  adds  fondness  to  the 
embraces  bestowed  upon  the  doll.  The  feelings  which  it  inspires 
abound  in  the  poetry  of  Moore.  He  beautifully  describes  its 
effects  in  the  following  lines : 

"  The  heart,  Uke  a  tendril  accustomed  to  cUng, 
Let  it  grow  where  it  will  cannot  flourish  alone ; 
But  will  lean  to  the  nearest  and  loveliest  thing, 
It  can  twine  with  itself,  and  make  closely  its  own." 

It  also  inspires  the  verse, 

"  The  heart  that  loves  truly,  love  never  forgets, 
But  as  truly  loves  on  to  the  close  ; 
As  the  sun-flower  turns  to  her  god  as  he  sets, 
The  same  look  that  she  turned  when  he  rose." 


142  ADHESIVENESS. 

The  old  Scotch  ballad,  "  There  's  nae  luck  about  the  house," 
breathes  the  very  spirit  of  this  faculty. 

The  poet  Downraan  thus  rapturously  extols  the  feeling  arising 
from  Adhesiveness. 

"  O  true  name  of  love, 
Tender  affection  !  Genuine  source  of  bliss 
Immaculate  and  pure  !  The  transient  blaze 
Of  passion  soon  subsides  ;  thy  steadier  fire 
Time  but  increases  !  Soft  coercive  band 
Connecting  souls  !  Without  thee,  what  is  life  ! 
Mild  Halcyon  of  the  breast,  whose  Summer  wing 
Calms  every  raging  storm  !  To  thee  the  wise, 
The  good  still  offer  incense  ;  all  who  bear 
No  sordid  stains  ;  nor  any  but  the  dull 
Or  groveling,  in  her  parsimonious  mood 
By  Nature  formed,  or  whom  the  iron  hand, 
Tyrannic  custom  rules,  despise  thy  sway." 

The  organ  ■  is  generally  larger,  and  the  faculty  stronger,  in 
women  than  in  men  ;  and  the  extreme  constancy  with  which,  in 
general,  they  adhere  to  the  objects  of  their  attachment  may  be 
attributed  to  this  faculty.  ' '  Man  boasts  of  his  capacity  for 
friendship,"  says  Mr.  Scott,  "and  falsely  speaks  of  its  joys  as 
the  purest  of  all  human  enjoyments.  But  it  is  only  in  the  heart 
of  feeling,  confiding,  generous  woman,  that  friendship  is  to  be 
found  in  all  the  fulness  of  perfection.  It  was  part  of  the  doom 
pronounced  upon  her  at  the  fall,  that  '  her  desire  should  be  to  her 
husband,  and  that  he  should  rule  over  her;'  and,  conformably  to 
the  first  clause  in  this  sentence,  wc  find  Adhesiveness  to  be,  in 
general,  far  m.ore  powerful  in  the  woman  than  in  the  man.  The 
most  generous  and  friendly  man  is  selfish  in  comparison  with 
woman.  There  is  no  friend  like  a  loving  and  affectionate  wife. 
Man  may  love,  but  it  is  always  with  a  reserve,  and  with  a  view  to 
his  own  gratification ;  but  when  a  woman  bestows  her  love,  she 
does  it  with  her  heart  and  soul." — Phren.  Journ.  vol.  ii.  p.  280. 

Even  in  the  most  degraded  criminals,  this  faculty  sometimes 
manifests  itself  with  a  fervor  and  constancy  of  affection  worthy  of 
a  better  fate.  Mary  Macinnes,  executed  in  Edinburgh  for  murder, 
bad  gained  the  affection  of  a  person  whose  name  need  not  here  be 


ADHESIVENESS.  143 

mentioned  ;  and  her  attachment  to  him  continued  strong  in  death, 
and  assumed  even  a  romantic  appearance  in  the  last  moments  of 
her  mortal  career.  He  had  sent  her  a  pocket-handkerchief,  having 
his  name  written  in  one  corner,  and  also  half  an  orange,  w^ith  a 
desire  that  she  would  eat  the  latter  on  the  scaffold,  in  token  of 
their  mutual  affection,  he  having  eaten  the  other  half  the  preceding 
morning  at  the  corresponding  hour.  She  held  the  corner  of  the 
napkin  in  her  mouth  almost  all  the  night  preceding  her  execution, 
and  even  on  the  scaffold.  When  seated  on  the  drop,  the  turnkey 
gave  her  the  half  orange.  She  took  it  out  of  his  hand,  and, 
without  the  least  symptom  of  fear,  said,  "  Tell  him  (the  object  of 
her  attachment)  that  I  die  perfectly  satisfied  that  he  has  done  all 
in  his  power  for  my  life,  and  that  I  eat  the  orange  as  he  desired 
me.  May  God  bless  him.  Say  to  him  that  it  is  my  dying  request 
that  he  may  take  care  of  drink  and  bad  company,  and  be  sure 
never  to  be  late  out  at  night."  She  seemed  to  forget  eternity  in 
the  ardor  of  her  attachment  to  earth.  The  organ  is  very  large  in 
the  cast  of  her  head. — Phren.  Trans,  p.  376. 

This  great  proneness  to,  and  ardor  in,  attachment  on  the  part 
of  the  female  sex,  render  those  men  doubly  guilty,  who,  on  the 
false  hypothesis  that  affection  readily  and  warmly  bestowed,  may 
be  lightly  withdrawn  and  directed  to  another,  sport  with  this  beau- 
tiful trait  of  female  nature,  and  gain  the  affections  of  women,  to 
beti-ay  their  honor,  or  gratify  a  silly  vanity  by  being  loved. 

There  is  a  great  difference  among  individuals  in  regard  to  the 
strength  of  this  feeling.  Some  men  have  many  acquaintances  b-ut 
no  friends ;  while  others  remain  attached  to  certain  individuals 
during  every  change  of  circumstances,  and  do  not  readily  enlarge 
the  circle  of  their  intimates.  When  the  organ  is  large,  great 
delight  is  felt  in  friendship  and  attachment,  the  idea  of  distant 
friends  often  presents  itself,  and  the  glow  of  affection  rushes  into 
the  mind,  with  all  the  warmth  and  vivacity  of  a  passion.  Those 
in  whom  it  is  small  care  little  for  friendship  ;  out  of  sight,  out 
of  mind,  is  their  maxim.  We  frequently  see  individuals  of  very 
different  characters  and  genius,  lastingly  attached  to  each  other. 
This  faculty,  strong  in  both,  seems  to  me  to  be  the  bond  of  union. 


144  ADHESIVENESS. 

They  perhaps  feel  many  points  of  repulsion,  and  are  not  happy  if 
too  long  and  too  closely  united;  but  still,  on  being  separated,  they 
experience  a  longing  for  each  other's  society,  which  makes  them 
forget  and  forgive  every  thing  to  obtain  its  gratification.  There 
are  husbands  and  wives  who  cannot  live  together,  and  yet  who 
become  miserable  when  long  separated.  I  conceive  this  to  arise 
from  large  Adhesiveness  in  both,  combined  with  other  faculties 
in  each,  which  do  not  harmonize. 

This  faculty  is  clearly  distinguishable  from  Benevolence,  for 
many  persons  are  prone  to  attachment  who  are  not  generous.  It, 
however,  has  a  more  extensive  influence  than  the  production  of 
friendship  among  individuals,  and  appears  to  give  rise  to  the 
instinctive  tendency  to  congregate,  whence  society  has  originated. 
Man  is  created  obviously  with  a  view  to  the  social  state.  His 
feelings  of  benevolence,  love  of  praise  and  justice,  require  society 
for  their  objects,  as  much  as  the  stomach  requires  food  to  enable 
it  to  perform  the  process  of  digestion  ;  and  nature,  by  means  of 
this  faculty,  seems  to  give  the  instinctive  tendency  to  associate,  by 
means  of  v/hich  the  whole  powers  of  the  mind  may  find  scope  for 
exercise.  If  this  view  be  correct,  deficiency  in  the  organ  will  be 
essential  to  an  anchorite  or  hermit. 

Some  of  the  lower  animals  possess  this  propensity  as  well  as 
man  :  It  is  remarkably  strong  in  the  dog  ;  and  horses  and  oxen 
sometimes  become  sick  and  pine,  when  deprived  of  accustomed 
companions.  "It  is  to  be  observed,  however,"  says  Dr.  Spurz- 
heim,  "  that  the  instinct  of  being  attached  for  life,  and  that  of  living 
in  society,  are  not  mere  degrees  of  energy,  so  that  a  lower  degree 
produces  attachment  for  life,  and  a  higher  degree  for  society.  For 
there  are  animals  which  live  in  society  without  being  attached  for 
life  ;  as  the  bull,  the  dog,  cock,  &c.  ;  others  live  in  society,  and 
in  family,  as  starlings,  ravens,  crows,  &c.  ;  others  again  are  attach- 
ed for  life  without  living  in  society,  as  the  fox,  magpie,"  &c.  The 
instmct,  therefore,  of  living  in  society,  and  that  of  living  in  family, 
are  modifications  of  the  faculty  in  question  ;  just  as  smell,  although 
the  same  sense  in  herbivorous  and  carnivorous  animals,  is  modified 
in  the  former  to  take  cognizance  of  vegetable  substances,  and  m 


ADHESIVENESS.  145 

the  latter,  of  the  animal  fibre  and  effluvia.  "  Man  belongs  to  the 
animals  which  are  social  and  attached  for  life ;  society  and  marriage 
are  consequently  effects  not  of  human  reflection,  but  of  an  original 
decree  of  nature." — Spurzheim's  Physiog.  Syst.  p.  200,  and 
Phrenology,  p.  163. 

Dr.  Gall  does  not  coincide  in  the  opinion  that  attachment  for 
life  in  man  and  animals  results  from  this  organ.  It  appears  to  him, 
so  far  as  his  knowledge  of  natural  history  extends,  that,  in  all 
species  where  both  the  male  and  female  concur  in  rearing  the 
young,  marriage  for  life  exists;  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  where 
the  unaided  female  is  sufficient  to  this  end,  the  connexion  is 
temporary.  At  the  same  time,  he  speaks  with  much  reserve  on 
the  subject,  and  is  not  prepared  to  decide,  whether  there  is  a 
separate  organ  for  attachment  for  life, — whether  it  is  the  result  of 
a  combination  of  several  organs,  or  a  modification  of  Adhesiveness. 
— Vol.  iii.  p.  485. 

Excessive  energy  of  this  faculty  produces  extreme  regret  at  the 
loss  of  friends,  or  at  leaving  our  country.  Nostalgia  is  supposed 
to  result  from  disease  of  the  organ. 

Mr.  Stewart*  and  Dr.  Thomas  Brown,f  admit  this  tendency  as 
a  primitive  instinct  of  our  nature,  and  concur  in  general  with  the 
views  of  the  phrenologists  in  regard  to  it. 

J.  J.  Roussea  founds  his  celebrated  Essay  on  the  Origin  of  the 
Inequality  of  Ranks,  which  obtained  the  prize  from  the  Academy 
of  Dijon,  on  the  non-existence  of  such  a  propensity  in  the  human 
mind.  He  views  man  in  his  natural  state,  as  an  isolated  and 
wandering  animal,  satisfying  his  hunger  by  the  chase,  or  by  the 
fruit  of  the  forest,  and  quenching  his  thirst  at  the  spring  or  the 
brook,  and  having  no  more  need  or  desire  of  society  with  his  kind, 
than  the  eagle  or  the  wolf.  He  conceives,  that  the  individual  who 
first  enclosed  a  spot  of  ground  and  called  it  mine,  and  who  first 
cajoled  his  fellow  men  to  settle  around  him  and  assist  him  in  his 
projects,  was  the  author  of  all  the  evil  with  which  human  nature  is 
now  afflicted.     Many  volumes  have  been  written  in  answer  to  this 

■*  Outlines,  p.  87.  t  Lecture  67. 

19 


146  COMBATIVENESS. 

absurd  lucubration;  but  I  submit,  that  Phrenology,  by  showing  that 
those  who  have  this  part  of  the  brain  large,  are  inspired  with  an 
instinctive  tendency  to  attachment  and  society,  affords  a  brief  and 
satisfactory  refutation  of  the  hypothesis. 

The  great  activity  of  this  organ  disposes  persons  to  embrace  and 
cling  to  each  other  ;  two  children  in  whom  it  is  active  will  put  their 
arms  round  each  others  necks,  and  place  their  heads  together, 
bringing  the  organ  of  Adhesiveness  in  each  into  contact  with  the 
same  organ  in  the  other,  or  assuming  this  attitude  as  nearly  as 
possible.  A  dog  when  anxious  to  show  his  attachment  will  rub 
his  head  at  the  seat  of  this  organ,  on  his  master's  leg. 

The  organ  is  established. 

6. COMBATIVENESS. 

This  organ  is  situated  at  the  posterior-inferior  angle  of  the 
parietal  bone. 

Dr.  Gall  gives  the  following  account  of  its  discovery.  After 
he  had  abandoned  all  the  metaphysical  systems  of  the  mind,  and 
become  anxious  to  discover  the  primitive  propensities  of  human 
nature,  by  means  of  observation,  he  collected  in  his  house  a  num- 
ber of  individuals  of  the  lower  classes  of  society,  following  differ- 
ent occupations,  coach-drivers,  servants,  &c.  After  acquiring  their 
confidence,  and  disposing  them  to  sincerity,  by  giving  them  wine 
and  money,  he  drew  them  into  conversation  about  each  other's 
qualities,  good  and  bad,  and  particularly  about  the  striking  charac- 
teristics in  the  disposition  of  each.  In  the  portraits  which  they 
drew  of  each  other,  they  paid  particular  attention  to  those  who 
everywhere  provoked  quarrels  and  disputes ;  they  also  distin- 
guished individuals  of  a  pacific  disposition,  and  spoke  of  them  with 
contempt,  calling  them  poltroons.  Dr.  Gall  became  curious  to 
discover,  whether  the  heads  of  the  bravoes  whom  they  described 
differed  in  any  respect  from  those  of  the  pacific  individuals.  Hi^ 
ranged  them  on  opposite  sides,  and  found,  that  those  who  delight- 
ed in  quarrels  had  that  part  of  the  head  immediately  behind,  and  a 
little  above  the  ear,  much  larger  than  the  others. 


COMBATIVENESS.  147 

He  observes,  that  there  could  be  here  no  question  about  the 
influence  of  education,  and  that  this  prominent  feature  in  the  char- 
acter of  each  could  never  be  attributed  to  the  influence  of  external 
circumstances.  Men  in  the  rank  to  which  they  belonged,  abandon 
themselves  without  reserve  to  the  impulse  of  their  natural  disposi- 
tions. 

The  spectacle  of  fighting  animals  was,  at  that  time,  still  existing 
at  Vienna.  An  iodividual  belonging  to  the  establishment  was  so 
extremely  intrepid,  that  he  frequently  presented  himself  in  the  arena 
quite  alone,  to  sustain  the  combat  against  a  wild  boar,  or  a  bull.  In 
his  head,  the  organ  was  found  to  be  very  large.  Dr.  Gall  next 
examined  the  heads  of  several  of  his  fellow  students,  who  had  been 
banished  from  Universities  for  exciting  contentions,  and  continu- 
ally engaging  in  duels.  In  them  also  the  organ  was  large.  In  the 
course  of  his  researches,  he  met  with  a  young  lady  who  had 
repeatedly  disguised  herself  in  male  attire,  and  maintained  battles 
with  the  other  sex ;  and  in  her,  also,  the  organ  was  large.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  examined  the  heads  of  individuals,  who  were 
equally  remarkable  for  want  of  courage,  and  in  them  the  organ  was 
small.  The  heads  of  the  courageous  persons  varied  in  every  other 
point,  but  resembled  each  other  in  being  large  in  this  part.  Equal 
differences  were  found  in  the  other  parts  of  the  heads  of  the  timid, 
when  compared  with  each  other,  but  all  were  small  at  Combative- 
ness. 

This  faculty  has  fallen  under  the  lash  of  ridicule,  and  it  has  been 
objected,  that  the  Creator  cannot  have  implanted  in  the  mind  a 
faculty  for  fighting.  The  objectors,  however,  have  been  equally 
shallow  in  learning,  as  in  observation  of  human  nature.  The  pro- 
foundest  metaphysicians  admit  its  existence,  and  the  most  esteemed 
authors  describe  its  influence  and  operations.  The  character  of 
Uncle  Toby,  as  drawn  by  Sterne,  is  in  general  true  to  nature, 
and  it  is  a  personification  of  the  combative  propensity,  combined 
with  great  Benevolence  and  Integrity.  "  If,"  says  Uncle  Toby, 
"  when  I  was  a  school-boy,  I  could  not  hear  a  drum  beat  but  my 
heart  beat  with  it,  was  it  my  fault  ?     Did  I  plant  the  propensity 


148  COMBATIVENESS. 

there  ?  Did  I  sound  the  alarm  within,  or  nature  ?  "  He  pro- 
ceeds to  justify  himself  against  the  charge  of  cruelty  supposed  to  be 
implied  in  a  passion  for  the  battle  field.  "  Did  any  one  of  you," 
he  continued,  "  shed  more  tears  for  Hector  ?  And  when  King 
Priam  came  to  the  camp  to  beg  his  body,  and  returned  weeping 
back  to  Troy  without  it, — ^you  know,  brother,  I  could  not  eat  my 
dinner.  Did  that  bespeak  me  cruel  ?  or,  because,  brother  Shandy, 
my  blood  flew  out  into  the  camp,  and  my  heart  panted  for  war, 
Was  it  a  proof  that  it  could  not  ache  for  the  distress  of  war  too  ?" 

Tacitus,  in  his  history  of  the  war  by  Vespasian  against  Vitellius, 
mentions,  that,  "  Even  women  chose  to  enter  the  capital  and 
abide  the  siege.  Amongst  these,  the  most  signal  of  all  was 
Verulana  Gracilia,  a  lady,  who  followed  neither  children  nor 
kindred,  nor  relations,  but  followed  only  the  war." — Lib.  iii. 
"Courage,"  says  Dr.  Johnson,  "is  a  quality  so  necessary  for 
maintaining  virtue,  that  it  is  always  respected,  even  when  it  is 
associated  with  vice." 

Mr.  Stewart  and  Dr.  Reid  admit  this  propensity,  under  the 
name  of  "  sudden  resentment;"  and  Dr.  Thomas  Brown  gives  an 
accurate  and  beautiful  description  of  it,  under  the  name  of  "instant 
anger."  "  There  is  a  principle  in  our  mind^^^  says  he,  '■^  which 
is  to  lis  like  a  constant  protector,  which  may  slumber  indeed,  but 
which  slumbers  only  at  seasons  when  its  vigilance  would  be  useless, 
which  awakes  at  the  first  appearance  of  unjust  intention,  and  which 
becomes  more  watchful  and  more  vigorous  in  proportion  to  the 
violence  of  the  attack  which  it  has  to  dread.  What  should  we 
think  of  the  providence  of  nature,  if,  when  aggression  was  threat- 
ened against  the  weak  and  unarmed,  at  a  distance  from  the  aid  of 
others,  there  were  instantly  and  uniformly,  by  the  intervention  of 
some  wonder-working  power,  to  rush  into  the  hand  of  the  defence- 
less, a  sword  or  other  weapon  of  defence?  and  yet  this  would  be 
but  a  feeble  assistance,  if  compared  with  that  which  we  receive 
from  those  simple  emotions  which  Heaven  has  caused  to  rush,  as 
it  were,  into  our  mind,  for  repelling  every  attack." — Vol.  iii.  p. 
324.  This  emotion  is  exactly  the  phrenological  propensity  of 
Combativeness,     The  chief  difference  between  Dr.  Brown's  views 


COMBATIVENESS.  149 

and  ours,  is,  that  he  regards  it  as  a  mere  susceptibility  of  emotion, 
liable  to  be  called  into  action  when  provocation  presents  itself,  but 
slumbering  in  quiescence  in  ordinary  circumstances;  while  we  look 
upon  it  as  an  active  impulse,  exerting  an  influence  on  the  mental 
constitution,  independent  of  unjust  attack.  It  is  to  express  this 
active  quality,  that  "  Combativeness "  is  used  to  designate  the 
faculty,  in  preference  to  "  Courage." 

Combativeness,  then,  inspires  with  courage,  and,  when  properly 
directed,  is  useful  to  maintain  the  right.  On  this  account,  a 
considerable  endowment  of  it  is  indispensable  to  all  great  and 
magnanimous  characters.  Even  in  schemes  of  charity,  or  in  plans 
for  the  promotion  of  religion  or  learning,  opposition  will  arise,  and 
Combativeness  inspires  its  possessor  with  that  instinctive  boldness 
which  enables  the  mind  to  look  undaunted  on  a  contest  in  virtue's 
cause,  and  to  meet  it  without  shrinking.  Were  the  organ  very 
deficient  in  the  promoters  of  such  schemes,  they  would  be  liable 
to  be  overwhelmed  by  contention,  and  baffled  in  all  their  exertions. 
I  conceive  Mrs.  Fry  would  require  no  small  Combativeness  to 
give  her  courage  to  undertake  the  reformation  of  Newgate.  With- 
out it,  her  mind  could  not  have  felt  that  boldness  to  encounter 
difficulty,  which  must  have  preceded  the  resolution  to  undertake 
so  great  an  enterprise.  Howard,  the  philanthropist,  also  must 
have  been  supported  by  it  in  the  perils  he  voluntarily  undertook 
in  visiting  the  dungeons  of  Europe.  Indeed  I  have  observed  that 
the  most  actively  benevolent  individuals  of  both  sexes,  those  who, 
in  person,  minister  to  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  face  poverty  and 
vice  in  their  deepest  haunts,  to  relieve  and  correct  them,  have  this 
organ  fully  developed.  Luther  and  Knox  must  have  required  a 
large  portion  of  it,  to  enable  them  to  perform  the  services  which 
they  rendered  to  Christendom. 

The  organ  is  large  in  valiant  warriors.  In  the  skulls  of  King 
Robert  Bruce,  and  General  Wurmser,  who  defended  Mantua 
against  Buonaparte,  it  is  exceedingly  conspicuous.  The  figures, 
at  the  top  of  next  page,  represent  Wurmser's  skull  contrasted  at 
this  organ  with  the  skull  of  a  Ceylonese  boy,  in  whom  it  is  small. 


150 


COMBATIVENESS. 


General  Wurmser. 


Ceylonese  Boy. 


Combativeness  large.  Combativeness  small. 

In  feudal  times,  great  Combativeness  was  more  essential  to  a 
leader  than  it  is  in  modern  warfare.  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion, 
Bruce  and  Wallace,  could  command  the  fierce  barbarians  whom 
they  led  to  the  field  only  by  superior  personal  prowess  ;  and, 
indeed,  hope  of  victory  was  then  founded  chiefly  on  the  dexterity 
with  which  the  chief  could  wield  his  sword.  In  modern  warfare, 
comprehensiveness  of  intellect  is  more  requisite  in  a  General ; 
but  still  Combativeness  is  a  valuable  element  in  his  constitution. 
Napoleon  distinguished  accurately  between  these  two  qualities.  He 
describes  Ney  and  Murat  as  men  in  whom  instinctive  courage  pre- 
dominated over  judgment;  and  notices  their  excellence  in  leading 
an  attack,  or  a  charge  of  cavalry,  combined  with  their  incapacity 
for  great  affairs.  The  most  perfect  military  commander,  he  says, 
is  formed  when  courage  and  judgment  are  in  cequilibrio;  —  in 
phrenological  language,  when  the  organs  of  Combativeness,  moral 
Sentiment,  and  Reflection,  are  in  just  proportion. 

This  faculty  is  of  great  service  to  an  advocate:  it  furnishes  him 
with  the  spirit  of  contention,  and  causes  his  energies  to  rise  in 
proportion  as  he  is  opposed. 

It  inspires  authors  with  the  love  of  battles.  Homer  and  Sir 
Walter  Scott  are  fired  with  more  than  common  energy,  when 
describing  the  fight,  the  slaughter,  and  the  shouts  of  victory.  From 
this  sympathy  of  historians,  orators  and  poets,  with  deeds  of  arras, 
warriors  are  too  inconsiderately  elevated  into  heroes,  and  thus  the 
trade  of  butchery  is  fostered  and  rendered  glorious,  with  small 
reference  to  the  merits  of  the  quarrel.  Phrenology,  by  revealing 
the  true  source  of  the  passion  for  war,  will,  it  is  to  be  noped,  one 
day  direct  the  public  sentiment,  to  mark  with  its  highest  disappro- 
bation every  manifestation  of  this  faculty  that  is  not  sanctioned  by 


COMBATIVENESS.  151 

justice,  and  then  we  shall  have  fewer  battles  and  inflictions  of 
misery  on  mankind. 

When  too  energetic  and  ill  directed,  it  produces  the  worst 
results.  It  then  inspires  with  the  love  of  contention  for  its  own 
sake.  In  private  society  it  produces  the  controversial  opponent, 
who  will  wrangle  and  contest  every  point,  and  "  though  vanquished, 
who  will  argue  still."  When  thus  energetic  and  active,  and  not 
directed  by  Conscientiousness,  it  becomes  a  great  disturber  of  the 
peace  of  the  domestic  circle:  Contradiction  is  then  a  gratification, 
and  the  hours  that  ought  to  be  dedicated  to  pure  and  peaceful 
enjoyment  are  imbittered  by  strife.  On  the  great  field  of  the 
world,  its  abuses  lead  to  quarrels,  and,  when  combined  with  De- 
structiveness,  to  bloodshed  and  devastation.  In  all  ages,  countless 
thousands  have  thronged  round  the  standard  raised  for  war,  with 
an  ardor  and  alacrity  which  showed  that  they  experienced  pleasure 
in  the  occupation. 

Persons  in  whom  the  organ  is  large,  and  not  directed  by  supe- 
rior sentiments,  are  animated  by  an  instinctive  tendency  to  oppose 
every  measure,  sentiment,  and  doctrine,  advocated  by  others;  and 
they  frequently  impose  upon  themselves,  so  far  as  to  mistake  this 
disposition  for  an  acute  spirit  of  philosophizing  prompting  them 
to  greater  vigor  of  investigation  than  other  men.  Bayle,  the  author 
of  the  Historical  Dictionary,  appears  to  have  been  a  person  of  this 
constitution;  for,  in  writing,  his  general  rule  was  to  take  the  side 
in  opposition  to  every  one  else;  and  hence  it  has  been  remarked, 
that  the  way  to  make  him  write  usefully,  was  to  attack  him  only 
when  he  was  in  the  right,  for  he  would  then  combat  in  favor  of 
truth  with  all  the  energy  of  a  powerful  mind.  William  Cobbett 
mentions,  that,  in  his  youth,  the  rattle  of  the  drum  inviting  him  to 
war  was  enchanting  music  to  his  ears,  and  that  he  ardently  became 
a  soldier.  In  his  maturer  years,  the  combative  propensity  seems 
to  glow  with  equal  vivacity  in  his  mind,  although  exerted  in  a 
different  direction.  By  speech  and  writing  he  now  contends  in 
favor  of  every  opinion  that  is  interesting  for  the  day.  To  Comba- 
tiveness  is  probably  owing  no  small  portion  of  that  boldness  which 
even  his  enemies  cannot  deny  him  to  possess. 


152  COMBATIVENESS. 

The  organ  is  large  also  in  persons  who  have  murdered  from  the 
impulse  of  the  moment,  rather  than  from  cool  deliberate  design. 
The  casts  of  Haggart  and  Mary  Macinnes  are  examples  in  point. 
The  organ  is  large  also  in  several  casts  of  Charibs'  skulls,  a  tribe 
remarkable  for  the  fierceness  of  their  courage.  Dr.  Spurzheim 
mentions,  that  the  ancient  artists  have  represented  this  organ  large 
in  their  statues  of  gladiators.  The  practice  of  that  art,  as  also  the 
prize-fights  of  England,  have  for  their  object  the  gratification  of 
this  propensity. 

When  the  organ  is  very  large  and  active,  it  gives  a  hard 
thumping  sound  to  the  voice,  as  if  every  word  contained  a  blow. 
Madame  De  Stael,  informs  us,  that  Buonaparte's  voice  assumed 
this  kind  of  intonation  when  he  was  angry ;  and  I  have  observed 
similar  manifestations  in  individuals,  whom  I  knew  to  possess  this 
part  of  the  brain  largely  developed.  When  predominant  it  gives  a 
sharp  expression  to  the  lips,  and  the  individual  has  the  tendency 
to  throw  his  head  backwards  in  the  direction  of  the  organ,  or  to 
assume  the  attitude  of  a  boxer  or  fencer. 

When  the  organ  is  small,  the  individual  experiences  great  diffi- 
culty in  resisting  attacks  ;  nor  is  he  able  to  make  his  way  in  paths 
where  he  must  invade  the  prejudices  or  encounter  the  hostility  of 
others.  Excessively  timid  children  are  generally  deficient  in  this 
organ  and  possess  a  large  Cautiousness  ;  their  heads  resembling  the 
figure  of  the  Ceylonese  boy  on  p.  150.  I  conceive  the  extreme 
diffidence  and  embarrassment  of  Cowper  the  poet,  to  have  arised 
from  such  a  combination  ;  and  in  his  verses  he  loathes  war  with  a 
deep  abhorrence.  Deficiency  of  Combativeness,  however,  does 
not  produce  fear  ;  for  this  is  a  positive  emotion,  often  of  great 
vivacity,  which  cannot  originate  from  a  mere  negation  of  an 
opposite  quality. 

Combativeness  is  generally  more  developed  in  men  than  in 
women  ;  but,  in  the  latter,  it  is  sometimes  large.  If  it  predom- 
inates, it  gives  a  bold  and  forward  air  to  the  female  ;  and  when  a 
child  she  would  probably  be  distinguished  as  a  romp. 

In  society  it  is  useful  to  know  its  effects,  for  then  we  can  treat 
it  according  to  its  nature.     If  we  wish  to  convince  a  person  in 


I 


COMBATIVENESS.  153 

whom  it  is  large  and  Conscientiousness  deficient,  he  will  never 
endeavor  to  seize  the  meaning  or  spirit  of  our  observations,  but 
will  pertinaciously  put  these  aside,  catch  at  any  inaccuracy  of 
expression,  fly  to  any  plausible,  although  obviously  false  inference, 
or  thrust  in  some  extraneous  circumstance,  as  if  it  were  of  essential 
importance,  merely  to  embarrass  the  discussion.  Individuals  so 
constituted  are  rarely  convinced  of  any  thing,  and  the  proper  course 
of  treatment  is  to  drop  the  argument  and  leave  them  in  quiet 
possession  of  the  field.  This  by  withdrawing  the  opportunity  for 
exercising  their  combativeness  is  really  a  punishment  to  them;  and 
our  views  will  have  a  better  chance  to  sink  into  their  minds 
unheeded  by  themselves,  than  if  urged  by  us  and  resisted  by  them, 
which  would  infallibly  be  the  case  if  we  showed  anxiety  for  their 
conviction.  The  test  of  a  combative  spirit  is  to  state  some  clear 
and  almost  self-evident  proposition  as  part  of  our  discourse.  The 
truly  contentious  opponent  will  instinctively  dispute  or  deny  it;  and 
we  need  proceed  no  farther. 

When  the  organ  is  large,  and  excited  by  strong  potations,  an 
excessive  tendency  to  quarrel  and  fight  is  the  consequence.  Hence 
some  individuals,  in  whom  it  is  great,  but  whose  moral  and  intel- 
lectual faculties  are  capable  of  restraining  it  when  sober,  appear, 
when  inebriated,  to  be  of  a  different  nature,  and  extremely  comba- 
tive. The  organ  is  liable  also  to  excessive  excitation  through 
disease.  Pinel  gives  several  examples  of  monomania  clearly  refer- 
able to  this  organ.  "  A  maniac,"  says  he,  "  naturally  peace/itl  and 
gentle  in  disposition,  appeared  inspired  by  the  demon  of  malice 
during  the  fit.  He  was  then  in  an  unceasingly  mischievous  activ- 
ity. He  locked  up  his  companions  in  their  cells,  provoked  and 
struck  them,  and  at  every  word  raised  some  new  quarrel  and 
fighting."  Another  individual,  who,  during  his  lucid  intervals,  was 
mild,  obliging,  reserved,  and  even  timid  in  his  manners,  became, 
during  the  fit,  highly  audacious,  "  and  experienced  the  most  violent 
propensity  to  provoke  those  who  approached  him,  to  irritate  and 
fight  them,  avec  outrance.''''  On  visiting  London  Bedlam  in  1824, 
I  examined  the  head  of  a  male  patient,  and  pronounced  Comba- 
tiveness and  Destructiveness  to  be  Lincommonly  large.  I  was 
20 


154  DESTRUCTIVENESS. 

desired  to  look  at  his  hands.  They  were  fastened  to  rings  in  an 
iron  girdle  round  his  waist.  He  had  committed  murder  in  an 
access  of  fury,  and  was  liable  to  relapses,  in  which  he  manifested 
these  propensities  with  inordinate  vehemence. 

This  organ  is  found  also  in  the  lower  animals  ;  but  there  are 
great  differences  among  them  in  respect  to  its  energy.  Rabbits, 
for  instance,  are  more  courageous  than  hares  ;  and  one  dog  looks 
incessantly  for  an  opportunity  of  fighting,  while  another  always  flies 
from  the  combat.  The  bull-dog  forms  a  contrast  in  this  propensity 
to  the  greyhound  ;  and  the  head  of  the  former  is  much  larger 
betwixt  and  behind  the  ears  than  the  latter.  "  This  also  is  an 
unfailing  sign  to  recognise  if  a  horse  be  shy  and  timid,  or  bold  and 
sure.  The  same  difference  is  observed  in  game-cocks  and  game- 
hens,  in  comparison  with  domestic  fowls.  Horse  jockeys,  and 
those  who  are  fond  of  fighting  cocks,  have  long  made  this  observa- 
tion."— Physiogn.  System,  p.  302. 

The  organ  is  established. 

6. DESTRUCTIVENESS 

This  organ  is  situated  immediately  above,  and  extends  a  little 
backwards  and  forwards  from,  the  external  opening  of  the  ear,  and 
corresponds  to  the  lower  portion  of  the  squamous  plate  of  the 
temporal  bone.  In  Dr.  Gall's  plates  it  extends  a  few  lines  farther 
back  than  in  those  given  by  Dr.  Spurzheim  ;  and  Dr.  Gall  men- 
tions, that  when  it  is  excessively  large,  the  whole  portion  of  the 
skull  from  the  inferior  margin  of  the  parietal  bones  to  the  ears  is 
elevated ;  and  that,  in  cases  of  smaller  developement,  the  promi- 
nence is  confined  to  the  temporal  bones.  I  have  seen  examples 
of  both  kinds. 

Dr.  Gall  gives,  in  substance,  the  following  account  of  the  dis- 
covery of  this  organ.  In  comparing  attentively  the  skulls  of 
several  of  the  lower  animals,  he  observed  a  characteristic  differ- 
ence betwixt  those  of  the  carnivorous  and  the  graminivorous  tribes. 
In  graminivorous  animals,  only  a  small  portion  of  the  brain  lies 
behind  the  external  opening  of  the  ear  ;   while  in  tho  carnivorous, 


DESTRUCTIVENESS.  155 

a  considerably  larger  mass  is  situated  there.  For  a  long  time  he 
merely  communicated  these  observations  to  his  hearers,  without 
making  the  least  application  of  them  to  Phrenology.  He  only 
pointed  out  that,  by  inspecting  the  cranium,  even  when  the  teeth 
are  wanting,  it  is  possible  to  distinguish  whether  the  animals  belong 
to  the  graminivorous  or  carnivorous  genera.  It  happened,  at  length, 
that  some  one  sent  him  the  skull  of  a  parricide;  but  he  put  it 
aside,  without  imagining  that  the  skulls  of  murderers  could  be  of 
any  use  to  him  m  his  researches.  Shortly  afterwards  he  received 
also  the  cranium  of  a  highwayman,  who,  not  satisfied  with  robbing, 
had  murdered  several  of  his  victims.  He  placed  these  two  crania 
side  by  side,  and  frequently  examined  them.  Every  time  that  he 
did  so  he  was  struck  with  this  circumstance,  that  although  they 
differed  in  almost  every  other  point,  each  of  them  presented  a 
distinct  and  corresponding  prominence,  immediately  above  the 
external  opening  of  the  ear.  Having  observed,  however,  the  same 
prominence  in  some  other  crania  in  his  collection,  he  thought  that 
it  might  be  by  mere  accident  that  these  two  parts  were  so  much 
developed  in  the  skulls  of  the  murderers.  It  was  only,  therefore, 
after  a  considerable  time,  that  he  began  to  reflect  upon  the  differ- 
ent conformation  of  the  brain  in  carnivorous  and  graminivorous 
animals;  and  then  observing  that  the  part  which  was  large  in  carni- 
vorous animals,  was  precisely  that  which  was  so  much  developed 
in  the  murderers,  the  question  occurred  to  him.  Is  it  possible  that 
there  can  be  any  connexion  betwixt  the  conformation  of  brain  thus 
indicated  and  the  propensity  to  kill  ?  "At  first,"  says  Dr.  Gall, 
"  I  revolted  from  this  idea;  but  when  my  only  business  was  to 
observe,  and  to  state  the  result  of  my  observations,  I  acknowledged 
no  other  law  than  that  of  truth."  "Let  us  not,  therefore,"  says 
he,  "fear  to  unfold  the  mysteries  of  nature,  for  it  is  only  when  we 
shall  have  discovered  the  hidden  springs  of  human  actions,  that  we 
shall  know  how  to  guide  the  conduct  of  men." 

The  organ  has  been  subjected  to  much  ridicule,  owing  partly  to 
its  having  been  at  first  named  the  organ  of  Murder,  from  having 
been  found  largest  in  individuals  who  had  suffered  death  for  this 
crime.     The  propensity,  however,  now  designated  Destructiveness, 


156  DESTRUCTIVENESS. 

is  recognised  by  many  authors  as  existing  in  the  human  mind. 
Lord  Karnes  observes,  that  "there  is  a  contrivance  of  Nature,  no 
less  simple  than  effectual,  which  engages  men  to  bear  with  cheer- 
fulness the  fatigues  of  hunting,  and  the  uncertainty  of  capture  ;  and 
that  is  an  appetite  for  hunting." — "It  is  an  illustrious  instance 
of  providential  care,  the  adapting  the  internal  constitution  of  man 
to  his  external  circumstances.  The  appetite  for  hunting,  though 
among  us  little  necessary  for  food,  is  to  this  day  remai'kable  in 
young  men,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor.  Natural  propensities 
may  be  rendered  faint  or  obscure,  but  never  are  totally  eradi- 
cated."— Sketches,  b.  i. 

Vicesimus  Knox,  in  his  Essays,  gives  a  similar  theory  of 
hunting.  The  delight  felt  in  this  sport  has  been  ascribed  to  the 
excitement  of  the  chase,  to  emulation,  and  to  the  pleasure  of  suc- 
ceeding in  our  aim;  but  if  these  were  the  sole  sources  of  the 
enjoyment,  then  it  ought  to  be  as  pleasant  to  gallop  over  hill  and 
dale,  and  leap  hedge  and  ditch,  without  as  with  an  animal  in  chase, 
and  as  agreeable  to  shoot  at  any  object  thrown  into  the  air  as  at  a 
bird.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case;  unless  there  is  a  creature 
to  suffer  the  effects  of  the  hunting  and  shooting,  these  acts  afford 
but  little  pleasure. 

The  author  of  an  essay  on  huntmg,  shooting,  and  fishing,  read 
before  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Manchester,  on 
15th  January,  1783,  recognises  this  appetite  as  inherent  in  the 
nature  of  man.  "We  have  seen,"  says  he,  "  the  human  mind,  in 
every  age,  endowed  with  a  strong  natural  inclination  to  these  diver- 
sions. In  the  savage  state,  we  have  seen  that  the  situation  of  man 
renders  such  a  propensity  absolutely  necessary;  we  have  seen  it 
become  at  once  conducive  to  his  convenience  and  his  pleasures. 
We  behold  him  emerge  from  a  state  of  uncivilization  into  polished 
life.  This  propensity  still  accompanies  him;  it  stimulates  him  to 
exercise,  the  efficient  cause  of  health." — "From  the  artributes 
justly  ascribed  to  the  benevolent  Author  of  our  existence,  we  may 
safely  conclude,  that  every  propensity  with  which  the  human  mind 
is  endowed,  is  not  only  necessary,  but  even  conducive  to  our 
happiness,  whilst  indulged  in  the  proper  degree.     This  is  not  more 


DESTRUCTIVENESS.  157 

true  of  the  mild  and  gentle  dispositions,  those  which  seem  to  be 
nourished  by  the  'milk  of  human  kindness,'  than  of  our  more  active 
and  lively  propensities,  those  which  excite  to  the  most  vigorous 
and  toilsome  exertions." — "In  the  exercise  of  every  disposition 
of  the  human  mind,"  adds  the  essayist,  "the  excess,  or  the 
deficiency,  alone  is  injurious;  but  there  is  none,  the  limited  use 
whereof  doth  not  contribute  to  the  happiness  of  the  individual, 
and  the  good  of  society."* 

The  feeling  is  familiar  to  poets  and  authors  who  delineate  human 
nature.  The  description  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  of  King  Robert 
Bruce  avenging  on  Cormac  Doil  the  death  of  Allan,  is  wi-itten  in 
the  very  spirit   of  Destructiyeness: 

Not  so  awoke  the  King !   his  hand 
Snatched  from  the  flame  a  knotted  brand, 
The  nearest  weapon  of  his  wrath, 
With  this  he  crossed  the  murderer's  path. 

And  venged  young  Allan  well  ! 
The  spattered  brain  and  bubbling  blood 
Hissed  on  the  half-extinguished  wood  ; 

The  miscreant  gasp'd  and  fell. 

The  same  author  recognises  several  of  the  phrenological  facul- 
ties m  the  following  lines  ;  and,  in  particular,  Love  of  Approbation 
and  Destructiveness:  the  latter,  however,  only  in  a  state  of  abuse. 
The  verses  refer  to  the  battle  of  Bannockburn  : 

But  O  .   amid  that  waste  of  life, 

What  various  motives  fired  the  strife! 

The  aspiring  noble  hied  for  fame. 

The  patriot  for  his  countrifs  claim  ; 

This  knight  his  youthful  strength  to  prove, 

And  that  to  earn  his  lady's  love  : 

Some  fought  from  ruffian  thirst  of  blood, 

From  habit  some,  or  hardihood. 

But  ruffian  stern,  and  soldier  good, 

The  noble,  and  the  slave, 
From  various  cause  the  same  wild  road. 
On  the  same  bloody  morning  trode, 
To  that  dark  Inn  the  grave. 

*  Manchester  Memoirs,  Vol.  I.  pp.  343,  351. 


158  DESTRUCTIVENESS. 

In  Recollections  of  the  Peninsula,  by  the  author  of  Sketches 
in  India,  the  following  passage  occurs  :  "As  the  chill  dews  of 
evening  were  descending  on  our  bivouack,  a  staff-officer,  with  a 
courier,  came  galloping  into  it,  and  alighted  at  the  quarters  of 
our  general.  It  was  soon  known  among  us  that  a  severe  and 
sanguinary  action  had  been  fought  by  our  brother  soldiers  at  Tala- 
vera.  Disjointed  rumours  spoke  of  a  dear-bought  field,  a  heavy 
loss,  and  a  subsequent  retreat.  I  well  remember  how  we  all  gathered 
round  our  fires  to  listen,  to  conjecture,  and  to  talk  about  this  glori- 
ous, but  bloody  event.  We  regretted  that  we  had  borne  no  share 
in  the  honors  of  such  a  day;  and  we  talked  icith  an  undefined  plea- 
sure about  the  carnage.  Yes  !  strange  as  it  may  appear,  soldiers, 
and  not  they  alone,  talk  of  the  slaughter  of  battle-fields  vsdth  a 
sensation  which  partakes  of  pleasure."*  I  have  observed  some 
young  men  who  possessed  good  moral  qualities,  but  whose 
thoughts  ran  habitually  on  killing  and  slaughtering.  The  impulse 
was  restrained,  but  they  confessed  that  it  would  have  given  them 
great  momentary  gratification  to  smash  and  slay.  In  them  the 
organ  was  decidedly  lai'ge. 

The  function  of  the  faculty  in  the  human  mind,  and  its  utility, 
are  easily  discovered.  In  regarding  this  scene  of  creation,  we  per- 
ceive man  surrounded  by  ferocious  animals  such  as  lions,  tigers, 
bears,  and  wolves  ;  which  are  not  only  incapable  of  being  tamea 
and  put  to  use,  but  which  would  be  fatal  to  him,  if  he  did  not 
destroy  them.  To  maintain  himself  in  existence,  therefore,  he 
must  put  many  animals  to  death.  Moreover,  he  has  received  from 
nature  a  stomach  fitted  to  digest  animal  food,  and  a  bodily  system 
that  is  nourished  and  excited,  and  preserved  in  health  and  activity, 
by  the  aliment  which  it  affords.  To  gratify  this  appetite,  he  must 
bereave  animals  of  life  by  sudden  destruction  ;  for  their  flesh  is 
unwholesome  and  unfit  for  use,  if  they  die  of  old  age  or  disease. 
In  the  last  place,  some  human  beings  themselves  are  so  inspired  by 
evil  passions,  that  no  terror  short  of  that  of  death  will  suffice  to  curb 
their  appetites,  and  prevent  them  from  injuring  their  fellow  men. 
Now,  let  us  consider  in  what  condition  man,  placed  in  these  cir- 
*  Page  39 


DESTRUCTIVENESS.  159 

cumstances,  would  have  stood,  if  he  had  wanted  this  propensity. 
The  hare  has  no  Destructiveness  ;  and  its  only  safety  is  in  flight. 
Man,  without  this  faculty,  would  have  been  as  little  formidable  to 
his  foes  as  the  hare  ;  he  would  have  been  the  timid  prey  of  every 
ferocious  animal  in  want  of  a  meal.  With  Destructiveness,  the  lion 
and  tiger  read  their  fate  in  his  eye  ;  they  recognise  the  natural 
expression  of  this  power  in  him,  as  readily  and  strongly  as  in  their 
fellows  of  the  forest,  and  dread  the  encounter,  unless  irresistibly 
impelled  by  hunger. 

Let  us  imagine,  also,  a  community  of  men,  known  to  exist,  in 
whom  no  Destructiveness  was  found  ;  who  would  reason,  entreat, 
or  flee  from  their  adversaries,  but  never  raise  a  weapon  in  their 
own  defence  ;  how  speedily  would  the  profligate  and  unprincipled 
flock  to  the  mansions  of  such  a  people,  as  to  their  appropriate 
prey  ;  and  what  contumelies  and  sufferings  would  they  not  compel 
them  to  endure  ?  But  let  the  community  possess  the  propensity  in 
question — let  them,  in  short,  raise  their  standard,  and,  like  Scot- 
land's monarch,  inscribe  on  it,  "  iVemo  me  impune  lacesset ;"  a 
motto  inspired  by  Destructiveness  and  Conscientiousness  com- 
bined ;  and  let  them  act  up  to  the  spirit  of  the  words,  by  hurling 
vengeance  on  every  wanton  aggressor  ;  and  such  a  people  will  sub- 
sequently live  in  peace  under  their  olive  and  their  vine,  protected 
by  the  terror  which  tliis  faculty  inspires  into  those  who,  but  for  it, 
would  render  the  world  a  scene  of  horror  and  devastation.  When 
any  power  is  so  indispensable  to  human  safety  as  this,  nature 
implants  it  in  the  mind  ;  and  such  an  instinct  is  Destructiveness. 

Combativeness,  then,  gives  courage  to  meet  danger  unappalled, 
and  to  resist  it.  Destructiveness  makes  the  onset  perilous  and  terri- 
ble to  the  aggressor.  Combativeness  enables  us  to  meet  and  over- 
come obstacles,  and  having  surmounted  them,  desires  no  more. 
Destructiveness  prompts  us  to  exterminate  the  causes  of  them,  so 
that  they  may  never  rise  up  to  create  fresh  embarrassments.  Com- 
bativeness would  inspire  Luther  and  Knox  with  courage  to  oppose 
the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  to  maintain  the  truth  as 
revealed  in  the  Scriptures  ;  Destructiveness  would  prompt  them 
utterly  to  destroy  the  Roman  Hierarchy,  and  to  trample  its  insignia 
under  foot. 


160  DESTRUCTIVEKESS. 

In  actual  life,  a  good  endowment  of  the  organ  is  an  indispensable 
requisite  to  a  proper  discharge  of  the  duties  of  several  situations. 
What  restrains  the  domination  of  the  proud,  but  a  knowledge,  that, 
if  they  press  too  heavily  even  on  the  meanest,  the  feeling  of  resent- 
ment will  start  into  activity  to  repel  the  insult ;  and  resentment  is 
the  result  of  wounded  Self-esteem,  aided  by  Destructiveness.  In 
the  case  of  officers  conducting  difficult  and  dangerous  enterprises, 
what  weight  would  the  word  of  command  carry,  if  every  stubborn 
mind  that  received  it  knew,  for  certain,  that  the  leader's  dispositions 
were  so  soft,  that  he  would  inflict  no  vengeance  for  disobedi- 
ence ? — and  vengeance  or  punishment  flows  from  DestTuctiveness 
directed  by  justice.  The  sword,  accordingly,  is  carried  before  the 
supreme  magistrate,  and  is  an  emblem  of  Destructiveness  ready  to 
fall  on  the  contemners  of  the  law. 

These  are  not  mere  theoretical  ideas,  but  views  founded  on 
actual  observations.  The  Hindoo  head  is  smaller  than  the  Euro- 
pean, and  in  particular  Combativeness  and  Destructiveness  are 
less  in  it  in  proportion  to  the  other  organs  ;  and  we  see  millions  of 
the  former  conquered  by  hundreds  of  the  latter.  In  actual  life,  I 
have  met  with  jJersons  who  were  so  soft  that  they  scarcely  struck 
fire,  however  hardly  they  were  hit  ;  who  shrunk  and  retreated,  yet 
agonized  under  every  insult  that  was  offered  ;  whose  anger  was  so 
feeble,  that  its  manifestations  excited  only  a  deeper  scorn,  and 
incited  to  further  outrages.  Such  individuals  possessed  small 
Combativeness  and  Destructiveness,  and  were  carried  through  life 
on  the  shoulders  of  others,  being  incapable  of  fighting  their  own 
w^ay  amidst  the  turmoils  of  the  world.  Those  who  have  an  ample 
endowment  of  these  organs,  well  regulated  by  superior  sentiments, 
are  not  aware  how  much  they  owe  to  it.  In  civilized  society,  we 
pass  years  without  a  contest,  but  it  is  because  all  know  that  the 
sentinels  are  at  their  post,  and  that  attack  is  dangerous.  A  man 
in  whom  society  recognises  a  deficiency  of  these  powers,  is  not 
equally  safe  from  aggression. 

Destructiveness  has  been  regarded  by  some  phrenologists  as 
communicating  a  more  g'^neral  species  of  energy  to  the  mind.  In 
endeavoring  to  trace  analytically  the  manner  in  v/hich  it  produces 


DESTRUCTIVENESS.  161 

this  last  effect,  it  has  been  supposed  to  give  an  impatient  craving 
appetite  for  excitement  ;  a  desire  to  vent  the  mind,  as  it  were,  on 
something  ;  a  feehng  vs^hich  would  be  delighted  with  smashing  and 
turmoil,  or  with  any  great  irregular  commotion,  rather  than  with  the 
listlessness  of  repose  ;  and  hence  a  large  developement  of  it  is  held 
to  be  incompatible  with  that  drowsiness  of  disposition  which  dreams 
life  away  in  vapid  inactivity  ;  is  contented  to  accept  of  absence  of 
suffering  for  enjoyment,  aiid  feels  excitement  as  pain,  rather  than 
a  source  of  pleasure.  In  this  view,  it  is  supposed  to  give  a 
general  stir  and  impetus  to  the  mental  faculties.  The  organ  is 
small  in  the  Hindoos,  and  they  ai'e  remarkable  not  only  for  great 
tenderness  of  animal  life,  but  for  deficiency  in  energy  of  character. 
In  point  of  fact,  however,  the  brain  in  general,  must  be  large,  before 
great  general  power  can  be  manifested ;  and  the  real  effect  of 
Destructiveness  appears  to  be  to  communicate  ability  to  act  with 
energy  in  certain  situations  in  which,  with  that  organ  small,  the 
individual  would  be  completely  paralyzed.  In  this  view,  it  may 
add  vigor  even  to  the  manifestations  of  Benevolence,  to  which,  at 
first  sight,  it  appears  directly  opposed  ;  but  it  does  so,  not  by 
increasing  the  positive  amount  of  that  feeling,  which  depends  on 
its  own  organ,  but  by  fitting  the  possessor  to  perform  acts  of  real 
kindness,  which  require  severity  as  their  means. 

As  much  ill  natui-e  as  wit  is  necessary  for  satire,  and  Destruc- 
tiveness gives  edge  to  it  and  to  sarcasm,  and  invective,  and  prompts 
to  the  conception  of  images  of  terror,  which  become  sublime  or 
horrible,  according  as  they  are  clothed  with  Ideality,  or  presented 
in  naked  deformity.  In  Lord  Byron's  works,  it  is  strongly 
manifested.  His  appetite  for  fierce  excitement, — ^the  dark  and 
dismal  scenes  of  suffering  and  murder  which  generally  abound 
m  his  stories,  together  with  the  deadly  venom,  and  the  fearful 
vehemence  of  his  pen,  when  directed  against  his  enemies,  could 
proceed  from  no  source  but  the  faculty  in  question.  It  leads  a 
poet,  in  general,  to  imagine  scenes  of  devastation  and  destruction, 
and  to  delight  in  the  description  of  them.  Byron's  poem  of 
"  Darkness,"  exhibits  in  every  image  the  very  form  and  pressure 
of  Destructiveness. 

21 


162  DESTRUCTIVENESS. 

When  the  energy  of  this  faculty  is  great,  indifference  to  suffering 
and  destruction  is  the  result.  When  too  weak,  and  Benevolence 
being  strong,  positive  pain  and  poignant  distress  are  felt  at  the  sight 
of  death,  and  suffering  of  every  kind.  We  are  surrounded  every 
day  by  death  in  all  its  forms,  and  by  destruction  in  its  every  shape: 
and  nature,  by  means  of  this  faculty,  steels  our  minds  so  far  as  to 
fit  us  for  our  condition,  and  to  render  scenes  which  our  situation 
constrains  us  to  witness  not  unsupportable.  A  certain  degree  of 
obduracy  of  feeling,  regardlessness  of  suffering,  and  indifference  to 
the  calamities  of  our  race,  is  absolutely  necessary  to  render  exist- 
ence tolerable  in  this  world  of  mingled  joy  and  wo.  I  have  seen 
individuals  miserable  from  too  feeble  an  energy  of  this  faculty. 
Every  object  in  a  state  of  pain  harrowed  up  their  feelings,  and 
lacerated  their  hearts,  and  produced  a  degree  of  continued  uneasi- 
ness scarcely  conceivable  by  persons  of  more  obdurate  dispositions. 

The  abuses  of  this  faculty  are  easily  recognised  in  society. 
There  are  persons  who  fly  into  a  passion  upon  every  trifling  occur- 
rence, and  vent  their  rage  on  all  who  are  subjected  to  their 
authority.  This  is  a  rude  and  vulgar  manifestation  of  the  propen- 
sity. There  are  others,  however,  who  avoid  this  form  of  misap- 
plication, but  who  indulge  in  making  severe  remarks  and  cutting 
observations,  altogether  uncalled  for,  and  introduced  with  no  view 
but  to  give  pain;  others  issue  their  commands  in  harsh  and  angry 
terms,  backed  by  loud  threatenings  and  terrible  gesticulations  ; 
others  are  severe  to  excess,  on  account  of  failures  in  duty,  and 
little  mindful  of  the  happiness  of  those  who  live  under  their  control: 
all  these  are  abuses  of  Destructiveness.  When  very  active,  this 
propensity  gives  a  dark  expression  to  the  countenance,  and  harsh 
and  discordant  tones  to  the  voice.  If,  in  a  friendly  converse  with 
a  person  in  whom  the  organ  is  large,  and  Secretiveness  small,  one 
happens  to  touch  on  some  irritating  topic,  in  an  instant  the  softness 
of  Benevolence,  and  the  courtesy  of  Love  of  Approbation,  will 
be  gone,  and  the  hoarse  growl  of  Destructiveness  will  indicate  an 
approaching  storm.  I  have  seen  it  stayed,  by  referring  the  rising 
wrath  to  its  source  in  this  propensity,  and  calling  on  reflection  to 
subdue  it. 


DESTRUCTIVENESS .  163 

Cursing  is  an  abuse  of  this  faculty;  and  I  have  observed  among 
the  lower  orders,  that  some  boys  who  attempted  to  practise  this 
abominable  vice  through  imitation,  deeming  it  manly,  could  never 
infuse  into  their  imprecations  that  force  and  expression  which 
seemed  to  come  quite  instinctively  to  others;*  and  this  natural 
incapacity  for  swearing  proceeded  from  Destructiveness  being 
moderately  developed  in  proportion  to  the  organs  of  the  moral 
sentiments.  I  have  said  that  this  faculty  furnishes  the  threat  which 
gives  force  to  command.  In  the  Bible,  every  variety  of  motive  is 
held  out  to  deter  men  from  sin;  and  I  have  noticed,  that  those 
individuals  in  whom  Destructiveness  predominates,  have  a  natural 
tendency  to  dwell  on  the  threatenings  of  the  Gospel,  while  those 
in  whom  Benevolence,  Hope  and  Veneration  are  large,  and  De- 
structiveness deficient,  hold  out  almost  exclusively  its  promises; 
or,  if  they  do  mention  its  denunciations,  these  are  so  diluted  by 
the  softness  of  their  own  mdnds,  through  which  they  pass,  that 
more  than  half  their  terrors  are  abated.  Preachers  of  the  first 
class,  while  they  sometimes  harrow  up  the  minds  of  more  sus- 
ceptible individuals,  and  cause  them  great  uneasiness,  frequently 
please  those  of  sterner  natures  by  their  vehemence.  The  latter 
class,  on  the  other  hand,  are  acceptable  to  those  naturally  mild  in 
disposition,  and  appear  insipid  to  the  others.  Fear  is  a  lower 
motive  than  love,  and  where  the  mind  can  be  led  by  the  higher 
feeling,  it  ought  always  to  be  preferred  ;  but  many  are  open  to  the 
influence  of  terror,  who  are  not  alive  to  Hope  and  Veneration,  and 
hence  the  use  of  both  is  necessary.  It  is  only  inordinate  dwelling 
upon  the  one  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other  that  is  reprehensible. 
The  higher  the  cultivation  of  the  audience,  the  less  is  fear  likely  to 
be  requisite  to  make  an  impression.  Fear  is  only  aversion  to 
personal  suffering,  and  is  totally  different  from  the  love  of  good. 

The  pleasure  which  even  humane  and  cultivated  individuals 
experience  in  witnessing  an  execution,  is  inexplicable  on  any  prin- 
ciple, except  that  of  the  existence  of  such  a  faculty  as  this,  aided 

*'  Stephen.  I  would  rather  than  forty  shillings  I  could  swear  as  well  as  that 
gentleman.  "  Body  of  Cffisar — St.  George — and  the  foot  of  Pharaoh."  No.  I 
ha'nt  the  right  grace.  Every  Man  in  his  Humour. 


164  DESTRUCTIVENESS. 

no  doubt  by  the  love  of  excitement,  arising  from  Wonder,  and 
some  other  faculties.  "  We  have,"  says  Mr.  Scott,  in  an  admira- 
ble Essay  on  this  propensity,  "too  much  humanity  ourselves  to 
put  a  man  to  death.  But,  if  a  man  is  to  be  killed,  we  have  no 
objection  to  witness  the  fact,  or,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  so,  to 
enjoy  the  pleasure  of  seeing  it  performed." — "  Were  Destructive- 
ness  wanting,  and  Benevolence  favorably  developed,  in  persons 
present  at  an  execution,  they  would  be  terrified,  not  delighted,  by 
such  a  scene." — Phren.  Trans,  p.  147.  A  blind  man  in  Edin- 
burgh attended  all  the  executions,  and  his  Destructiveness  was 
probably  gratified  by  descriptions  given  to  him  by  those  who  saw, 
and  by  their  natural  language  when  under  the  emotions  excited  by 
the  scene. 

In  children,  and  even  in  adults,  Destructiveness  frequently  vents 
itself  in  destroying  inanimate  objects.  The  people  destroy  mile- 
posts,  bridges,  statues,  and  pubhc  buildings,  wherever  they  can 
get  access  to  them  ;  and  "  no  object  of  art,  or  even  of  utility," 
says  a  late  writer,  "  is  safe  from  their  depredations."  He  ascribes 
this  tendency  "  to  the  spirit  of  pure  mischief," — a  correct  desig- 
nation for  unguided  Destructiveness.  The  statute  3d  Geo.  lY, 
chap.  71.,  which  ordains,  "  That,  if  any  person  or  persons  shall 
wantonly  and  cruelly  beat,  abuse  or  ill  treat,  any  horse, 
mare,  gelding,"  &c.  he  shall  pay  certain  penalties  to  the  King, 
is  clearly  directed  against  the  abuses  of  this  propensity,  and,  of 
course,  supposes  its  existence.  The  adjectives  severe^  harsh, 
angry,  cruel,  fierce,  ferocious,  savage,  brutal,  barbarous,  atro- 
cious, indicate  states  of  mind  all  originating  from  it. 

Metaphysical  authors  in  general  do  not  treat  of  any  power 
resembling  this  faculty.  Accustomed  to  reflect  in  the  closet  more 
than  to  observe  actions,  they  were  not  likely  to  discover  it.  At 
the  same  time,  it  is  surprising  that  the  contemplation  of  the  pages 
of  history  did  not  suggest  a  tendency  of  this  kind  to  their  mind. 
Caligula  is  represented  cutting  out  the  tongues  of  his  victims, — 
delivering  them  to  be  devoured  by  wild  beasts, — forcing  individ- 
uals to  assist  in  executing  their  relations, — torturing  and  putting  to 
the  rack  unhappy  wretches  as  an  amusement  to  his  own  ferocious 


DESTRUCTIVENESS  165 

mind, — and  finally  expressing  a  wish  that  the  Roman  people  had 
but  one  head,  that  he  might  cut  it  off  by  one  blow.  Turning  our 
eyes  to  Nero,  we  discover  him  indulging  in  equal  atrocities,  caus- 
ing Britannica  to  be  poisoned, — -murdering  his  own  mother, — set- 
ting fire  to  Rome  in  four  quarters  at  once,  and  ascending  a  tower 
to  enjoy  the  spectacle  of  the  conflagiation.  In  modern  times,  we 
are  presented  with  the  horrors  of  the  Sicilian  Vespers,  the  carnage 
of  St.  Bartholomew's,  and  the  massacres  of  the  French  Revolution. 
These  actions  are  inexplicable,  on  the  supposition  that  no  pro- 
pensity of  Destructiveness  exists  ;  and,  if  the  metaphysicians  had 
applied  their  systems  to  human  conduct,  they  must  have  discov- 
ered that  they  contained  no  principle,  capable  of  accounting  for  the 
transactions  alluded  to.  In  the  ancient  busts  of  Nero,  the  organ 
of  Destructiveness  is  represented  as  enormously  large. 

Dean  Swift  has  given,  through  the  medium  of  Gulhver,  the 
following  vivid  description  of  the  effects  of  too  active  Combative- 
ness  and  Destructiveness  : — "I  could  not,"  says  Gulliver,  "for- 
bear shaking  my  head  and  smiling  a  little  at  the  ignorance  of  the 
Houyhnhnm.  And  being  no  stranger  to  the  art  of  war,  I  gave 
him  a  description  of  cannons,  culverins,  muskets,  carabines,  pistols, 
bullets,  powder,  swords,  bayonets,  battles,  sieges,  retreats,  attacks, 
undermines,  countermines,  bombardments,  sea-fights,  ships  sunk 
with  a  thousand  men,  twenty  thousand  killed  on  each  side,  dying 
groans,  limbs  flying  in  the  air,  smoke,  noise,  confusion,  trampling 
to  death  under  horses'  feet,  flight,  pursuit,  victory  ;  fields  strewed 
with  carcasses,  left  for  food  to  dogs  and  wolves  and  birds  of  prey; 
plundering,  stripping,  ravishing,  burning,  and  destroying.  And  to 
set  forth  the  valor  of  my  own  dear  countrymen,  I  assured  him, 
that  I  had  seen  them  blow  up  a  hundred  enemies  at  once  in  a 
siege,  and  as  many  in  a  ship  ;  and  beheld  the  dead  bodies  drop 
down  in  pieces  from  the  clouds,  to  the  great  diversion  of  the  spec- 
tators." 

The  organ  is  large  in  the  heads  of  cool  and  deliberate  murderers. 
It  is  very  large,  and  Benevolence  small,  in  the  skull  of  Bellingham, 
who  murdered  Mr.  Percival.  The  temporal  bones  protrude  at 
least  half  an  inch  in  the  situation  of  the  organ  of  Destructiveness, 


166  DESTRUCTIVENESS. 

on  each  side,  and  the  frontal  bone  presents  a  receding  surface  at 
the  organ  of  Benevolence,  where  the  skulls  of  individuals  remark- 
able for  benevolence  generally  rise  into  an  elevation  of  half  an  inch 
or  more.  A  cast  of  Bellingham's  skull  may  be  inspected  in  the 
Phrenological  Society's  Collection.  The  organ  of  Destructiveness 
is  also  largely  developed  in  the  skull  of  Gordon,  who  accompanied 
a  poor  half-fatuous  pedlar  boy,  and,  in  the  middle  of  a  muir,  beat 
out  his  brains  with  the  heel  of  his  clog,  and  robbed  him  of  his 
pack,  not  worth  twenty  shillings.  The  skull  itself  is  in  the 
Society's  Collection,  and  the  bones  protrude  nearly  half  an  inch 
on  each  side  at  the  region  in  question.  It  is  large  in  Charles 
Rotherham,  who  pulled  a  stake  from  a  hedge  and  beat  out  the 
brains  of  a  poor  woman  on  the  liighway,  and  robbed  her  of  some 
very  trifling  articles.  It  is  large  also  in  the  skulls  of  Hussey, 
Nisbet,  and  Lockey,  who  were  executed  for  murder.  It  is  very 
large,  with  deficient  moral  organs,  in  Burke  and  Hare,  who  mur- 
dered sixteen  human  beings,  for  the  sake  of  the  price  of  their 
dead  bodies  as  subjects  for  dissection.  See  page  80.  It,  and  the 
organ  of  Acquisitiveness,  appear  to  have  been  very  largely  devel- 
oped in  the  head  of  Heaman,  executed  at  Edinburgh,  for  piracy 
and  murder ;  also  in  the  head  of  Robert  Dean,  executed  for  mur- 
dering a  child  without  any  rational  motive ;  and  in  the  head  of 
Mitchell,  executed  for  murdering  a  young  woman  whom  he  had 
seduced.  In  the  heads  of  David  Haggart  and  Mary  Macinnes, 
executed  at  Edinburgh,  and  of  Booth,  a  poacher,  executed  at 
York,  all  for  murders  committed  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment, 
it  appears  considerably  developed  ;  while  in  them  Combativeness 
is  also  very  large.  The  organ  is  moderately  developed  in  the 
Esquimaux  and  they  are  strangers  to  cruelty  and  ferocity.  It  ig 
very  large  in  the  Papuan  Islanders  and  they  are  prone  to  murder. 

The  Society  possesses  casts  of  the  skulls  of  five  Charibs,  who 
are  well  known  to  be  a  ferocious  tribe,  and  in  all  of  them  the 
organ  of  Destructiveness  is  decidedly  large.  On  the  other  hand, 
Dr.  George  Murray  Patterson,  surgeon  in  the  Honorable  East 
India  Company's  service,  mentions,  as  the  result  of  three  thousand 
actual  examinations,  that  the  organ  is  small  in  the  heads  of  Hin- 


DESTRUCTIVENESS. 


167 


doos  in  general,  who  are  known  to  be  extremely  tender  in  regard 
to  animal  life.  In  the  skulls  of  fourteen  Hindoos,  twelve  of  which 
were  presented  to  the  Society  by  this  gentleman,  and  two  by  Dr. 
J.  S.  Combe  of  Leith,  the  developement  of  the  organ  will  be 
found  to  be  decidedly  less  than  in  the  skulls  of  Europeans  in 
general.  The  figures  represent  the  skulls  of  Bellingham  and  a 
Hindoo. 


BELLINGHABI. 


Destructiveness  Large.  Destructiveness  Small. 

When  excited  by  intoxication,  the  organ  sometimes  becomes 
ungovernable;  and  hence  arises  the  destruction  of  glasses,  mirrors, 
chairs,  and  every  frangible  object  at  the  close  of  many  a  feast. 
Hence  also  the  temptation,  often  almost  irresistible,  experienced 
by  many  a  worthy  citizen,  when  inebriated,  to  smash  a  lamp  in  his 
progress  home.  One  gentleman  assured  me  that  the  lamps  have 
appeared  to  him,  when  in  this  state,  as  it  were  twinkling  on  his 
path  with  a  wicked  and  scornful  gleam,  and  that  he  has  frequently 
hfted  his  stick  to  punish  their  impertinence,  when  a  remnant  of 
reason  restrained  the  meditated  blow.  In  him  Destructiveness  is 
decidedly  large,  but,  when  sober,  there  is  not  a  more  excellent 
person. 

The  organ  is  also  liable  to  excitement  by  disease,  and  then  the 
propensity  is  manifested  with  irresistible  vehemence.  The  author 
of  Sketches  in  Bedlam,  describes  the  case  of  Pat.  Walsh,  a 
ferocious  maniac,  who  has  been  deranged  altogether  about  twelve 
years,  and  has,  it  is  said,  uniformly  evinced  a  character  of  despe- 
ration, vengeance,  and  sanguinary  cruelties,  scarcely  conceivable 
even  in  madness.  Notwithstanding  every  precaution  that  was 
taken,  he  has  killed  three  persons  since  his  confinement.  "  His 
propensity  to  mischief,  malice,  and  personal  abuse,  is  as  incessant 
as  his    taste    for   bloodshed    and    slaughter.     He    has    contrived, 


168  DESTRUCTIVENESS. 

notwithstanding  his  restriction  of  hands  and  feet,  to  break  about 
seventy  panes  of  glass  within  the  last  two  years,  in  the  dining-room 
windows,  although  guarded  on  the  inside  by  a  strong  iron  wire 
lattice-work.  This  amusement  he  contrived  to  effect  by  standing 
on  a  form  placed  at  some  distance  from  the  windows,  and,  taking 
the  bowl  of  his  wooden  spoon  in  his  mouth,  he  poked  the  handle 
through  the  meshes  of  the  wire-work,  and  thus  broke  the  pane." 
As  this  man  is  said  to  be  confined  in  an  iron  cincture>that  surrounds 
his  waist,  with  strong  hand-cuffs  attached  to  it,  I  infer  that  he  is 
the  same  whose  head  I  examined  in  Bedlam  in  1824,  and  in  whom 
the  organs  of  Combativeness  and  Destructiveness  were  inordinately 
large. 

When  this  organ  and  Combativeness  are  very  large,  combined 
with  great  deficiency  in  the  moral  and  intellectual  organs,  there  is 
an  innate  disposition  to  mischief  and  violence  which  renders  the 
individual  dangerous  to  society.  In  visiting  the  Richmond  Lunatic 
Asylum  in  Dublin,  in  1829,  a  man  was  presented  to  me  by  Dr. 
Crawford,  substitute  physician,  and  I  wrote  down  the  following 
temai-ks: 

Mr.  Combe''s  Remarks 

Patient's  name,  E.  S. 

Large  Amativeness 

Do.  Philoprogenitiveness 

Very  large  Destructiveness 

Do.  Combativeness 

Large  Self-esteem 

Do.  Cautiousness 

Moral  organs,  deficient,  particularly  Veneration  and  Hope 
Moderate  Conscientiousness 

Of  the  moral  organs  Benevolence  is  rather  well  developed. 

Intellectual  organs  Rather  well  developed. 

The  patient  was  withdrawn,  and  Mr.  Combe  added  :  This  is  the  worst  head 
I  ever  saw.  The  combination  is  worse  than  Hare's. — Combativeness  and 
Destructiveness  are  fearfully  large,  and  the  moral  organs  altogether  very 
deficient:  Benevolence  is  the  best  developed  of  them,  but  it  is  miserably 
small  compared  with  the  organs  of  Combativeness  and  Destructiveness. 
I  am  surprised  that  that  man  was  not  executed  before  he  became  insane. 


J 


DESTRUCTIVE  NESS.  169 

Dr.  Crawford  had  previously  vt^ritten  dovra,  and  then  exhibited, 
the  following  observations: 

Dr.  Crcmford's  Remarks. 

Patient  E.  S.,  aged  34.     Ten  years  since  first  admission. 

Total  want  of  moral  feeling  and  principle,  great  depravity  of  character,  lead- 
ing to  the  indulgence  of  every  vice,  and  to  the  commission  even  of  crime. 
Considerable  intelligence,  ingenuity,  and  plausibility ;  a  scourge  to  his 
family  from  childhood;  turned  out  of  the  army  as  an  incorrigible  villain: 
attempted  the  life  of  a  soldier ;  repeatedly  flogged  ;  has  since  attempted  to 
poison  his  father. 

In  preparing  a  report  of  this  and  other  cases  for  the  Phrenologi- 
cal Journal,  I  sent  the  proof  sheet  to  Dr.  Crawford  for  revisal, 
which  he  returned  along  with  a  letter  to  the  following  effect:  "I 
have  a  few  remarks  to  make  on  the  lunatic,  lettered  E.  S.  You 
observe  in  your  own  notes,  '  I  am  surprised  he  was  not  executed 
before  he  became  insane.'  This  would  lead  to  the  supposition, 
that  he  had  been  afflicted  with  some  form  of  insanity  in  addition  to 
a  naturally  depraved  character.  Such,  however,  is  by  no  means 
the  case  ;  he  never  was  different  from  what  he  now  is ;  he  has 
never  evinced  the  slightest  mental  incoherence  on  any  one  point, 
nor  any  kind  of  hallucination.  It  is  one  of  those  cases  where  there 
is  great  difficulty  in  drawing  the  line  between  extreme  moral 
depravity  and  insanity.,  and  in  deciding  at  what  point  an  individual 
should  cease  to  be  considered  as  a  responsible  moral  agent,  and 
amenable  to  the  laws.  The  governors  and  medical  gentlemen  of 
the  Asylum  have  often  had  doubts  whether  they  were  justified  in 
keeping  E.  S.  as  a  lunatic,  thinking  him  a  more  fit  subject  for  a 
bridewell.  He  appears,  however,  so  totally  callous  with  regard  to 
every  moral  principle  and  feeling — so  thoroughly  unconscious  of 
ever  having  done  any  thing  wrong — so  completely  destitute  of  all 
sense  of  shame  or  remorse  when  reproved  for  his  vices  or  crimes-— 
and  has  proved  himself  so  utterly  incorrigible  throughout  life,  that 
it  is  almost  certain  that  any  jury  before  whom  he  might  be  brought 
would  satisfy  their  doubts  by  returning  him  insane,  which  in  such 
a  case  is  the  most  humane  line  to  pursue.  He  was  dismissed 
22 


170  DESTRUCTIVENESS. 

several  times  from  the  Asylum,  and  sent  there  the  last  time  for 
attempting  to  poison  his  father,  and  it  seems  fit  he  should  be  kept 
there  for  life  as  a  moral  lunatic;  but  there  has  never  been  the 
least  symptom  of  diseased  action  of  the  brain,  which  is  the  general 
concomitant  of  what  is  usually  understood  as  insanity.  This  I 
consider  might  with  propriety  be  made  the  foundation  for  a  division 
of  lunatics  into  two  great  classes  ;  those  who  were  insane  from 
original  constitution,  and  never  were  otherwise,  and  those  who 
had  been  insane  at  some  period  of  life  from  diseased  action  of  the 
brain,  eidier  permanent  or  intermittent. — There  would  be  room  for 
a  few  additional  notes  to  the  case  of  E.  S.,  explanatory  of  what  I 
have  said,  if  you  think  fit." — Dublin,  20th  July,  1829. 

Dr.  Gall  cites  a  variety  of  cases  of  diseased  manifestations  of  this 
propensity,  which  had  fallen  under  his  own  observation,  and  quotes 
several  others  highly  illustrative  from  Pinel.  I  select  one  of  these, 
in  which  the  organ  of  Destructiveness  seems  to  have  been  affected 
singly,  the  other  organs  remaining  entire.  The  patient,  during 
periodical  fits  of  insanity,  was  seized  v/ith  an  "  uncontrollable  fury, 
which  inspired  him  with  an  irresisdble  propensity  to  seize  an  instru- 
ment or  offensive  weapon,  to  knock  on  the  head  the  first  person 
who  presented  himself  to  his  view.  He  experienced  a  sort  of 
internal  combat  between  this  ferocious  impulse  to  destroy,  and  the 
profound  horror  which  rose  in  his  mind,  at  the  very  idea  of  such  a 
crime.  There  was  no  mark  of  wandering  of  memory,  imagination, 
or  judgment.  He  avowed  to  me,  during  his  strict  seclusion,  that 
his  propensity  to  commit  a  murder  was  absolutely  forced  and 
involuntary, — that  his  wife  whom  he  tenderly  loved,  had  nearly 
become  his  victim,  he  having  scarcely  had  time  to  bid  her  flee  to 
avoid  his  fury.  All  his  lucid  intervals  were  marked  by  melancholy 
reflections  and  expression  of  remorse  ;  and  so  great  did  his  disgust 
of  life  become,  that  he  had  several  times  attempted,  by  an  act  of 
suicide"  (this  is  common  in  the  excess  of  Destructiveness)  "to 
bring  it  to  a  close.  What  reason  have  I,"  said  he,  "to  cut  the 
throat  of  the  superintendent  of  the  hospital,  who  treats  us  with  so 
much  kindness  .''  and  yet  in  my  moments  of  fury  I  am  tempted  to 
rush  upon  him,  as  well  as  others,  and  plunge  a  dagger  in  his  bosom. 


DESTRUCTIVENES3.  171 

It  is  this  unhappy  and  irresistible  propensity  which  reduces  me  to 
despair,  and  makes  me  attempt  my  own  life." — Sur  V  Alienation 
Mentale,  deuxieme  edition,  p.  102  et  103.  sect.  117. 

Individuals  who  occasionally  commit  murder,  or  set  fire  to  prop- 
erty, without  any  rational  motive,  sometimes  ascribe  their  actions 
to  the  temptation  of  the  devil,  asserting  that  the  devil  whispered 
into  their  ears,  "kill  him,"  "kill  him,"  and  never  ceased  to  repeat 
the  exhortation  till  they  had  complied  with  it.  Diseased  activity  of 
this  organ,  filling  the  mind  habitually  with  a  desire  to  destroy,  pro- 
bably gives  rise  to  this  impression. 

One  form  in  which  disease  of  this  organ  sometimes  appears, 
requires  particular  notice  ;  it  is  when  it  prompts  females  of  the 
most  unquestionable  reputation  to  child-murder.  I  cite  the  follow- 
ing from  the  public  newspapers  of  May,  1822.  "  On  Sunday 
morning,  about  half-past  ten  o'clock,  a  most  horrid  murder  of 
unparalleled  inhumanity,  was  perpetrated  on  the  body  of  a  fine 
female  infant,  about  eight  months  old,  named  Sarah  Mountford,  by 
her  own  mother,  wife  of  Mr.  Mountford,  weaver.  No.  1.  Virginia 
Row,  Bethnal  Green.  The  husband,  who  is  a  Methodist,  had 
gone  to  chapel,  leaving  his  wife  to. clean,  and  send  to  the  Sunday 
school,  her  young  family.  Having  done  this,  it  appeared  she 
cleaned  herself  and  her  infant,  when,  overcome  by  some  extra- 
ordinary aberration  of  intellect,  she  cut  off  the  head  of  the  child 
with  a  razor,  and,  besmeared  with  the  blood,  immediately  told  the 
persons  in  the  house  of  the  bloody  deed,  desiring  to  be  given  into 
custody,  as  she  wanted  to  be  hanged.  From  the  conduct  of  the 
wretched  woman  after  the  transaction,  no  doubt  can  be  entertained 
of  her  insanity.  Mrs.  Mountford  underwent  a  short  examination 
on  Monday,  and  was  committed  for  trial.  A  coroner's  inquest 
has  been  held,  which  returned  a  verdict  of  wilful  murder  against 
the  wretched  woman.  The  distress  of  the  family  is  extreme. 
The  unhappy  husband  and  two  of  the  eldest  daughters  are  seen 
running  about  the  streets  in  a  state  of  distraction.  One  of  the  latter 
has  been  deprived  of  utterance  since  the  horrid  transaction."  This 
woman  is  said  to  have  been  "  overcome  by  some  extraordinary 
aberration  of  intellect  ;  "  which  mode  of  expression  may  be  for- 


172  DESTRUCTIVENESS. 

given  in  the  writer  of  a  newspaper  paragraph,  although,  viewed 
philosophically,  it  is  absurd.  The  intellectual  powers  enumerated 
by  the  metaphysicians,  such  as  Perception,  Conception,  Memory, 
Imagination,  and  Judgment,  furnish  no  propensities  to  action, 
which,  being  deranged,  could  produce  such  a  piece  of  barbarity. 
Derangement  of  intellect  causes  the  patient  to  reason  incorrectly, 
and  speak  incoherently  ;  but  if  his  feelings  be  sound,  he  is  not 
mischievous.  Here,  however,  the  unhappy  woman  seems  to  have 
been  inspired  with  a  blind  and  irresistible  impulse  to  kill,  arising 
from  disease  of  Destructiveness. 

These  details  are  exceedingly  painful,  and  the  reader  may  ques- 
tion the  taste  which  permits  their  insertion  ;  but  great  ignorance 
prevails  in  the  public  mind  on  this  subject,  and  the  records  of  our 
criminal  courts  still  show  cases  of  wretches  condemned  to  the 
gallows,  who,  if  Phrenology  were  known  to  the  judges  and  juries, 
would  be  consigned  to  a  lunatic  asylum. 

This  organ  is  larger  in  the  male  head  than  in  the  female ;  and 
hence  the  male  head  is  in  general  broader.  The  manifestations 
correspond  :  for  the  propensity  is  less  vigorously  manifested  by 
woman  than  by  man. 

As  already  noticed,  the  organ  is  common  to  man  with  carniv- 
orous animals.  Dr.  Gall,  however,  remarks,  "  that  the  organ  is 
not,  in  all  carnivorous  animals,  situated  with  rigorous  exactness 
above  the  external  opening  of  the  ear.  Among  some  species  of 
birds,  for  example,  in  the  stork,  the  cormorant,  the  heron,  the 
gull,  &c.,  the  external  opening  of  the  ear  is  considerably  drawn 
back,  and  the  organ  of  the  propensity  to  kill  is  placed  immediately 
behind  the  orbits,  forming  a  large  prominence  upon  each  side,  the 
size  of  which  is  found  to  bear  an  uniform  proportion  to  the  degree 
in  which  the  animal  manifests  the  propensity  to  kill.  In  comparing 
the  crania  of  carnivorous  birds  with  the  skulls  of  those  that  can  live 
indifferently  either  upon  animals  or  vegetables,  this  prominence  is 
found  to  be  less  conspicuous  in  the  latter;  in  the  duck,  for  exam- 
ple, and  in  the  different  species  of  thrushes  ;  and  it  becomes  less 
and  less  prominent  in  proportion  as  the  birds  exhibit  a  more  dis- 
tinct preference  for  vegetables,  such  as  the  swan,  the  goose,"  &c. 


ALIMENTIVENESS.  173 

The  differences  are  illustrated  by  plates  in  Dr.  Gall's  work.  If  the 
brain  of  a  sheep  and  that  of  a  dog  be  compared,  a  great  deficiency 
will  be  discovered  in  the  former  at  Destructiveness. 

In  1827,  Monsieur  Vimont  presented  to  the  Royal  Institute  of 
France,  a  memoir  on  Comparative  Phrenology,  in  which  he  brings 
forward  a  vast  collection  of  most  interesting  facts,  in  regard  to  the 
dispositions  and  forms  of  the  brain  in  the  lower  animals.  In  regard 
to  Destructiveness,  he  says,  "All  animals  which  live  on  flesh,  or 
which  have  a  propensity  for  destroying,  have  a  particular  part  of 
the  cranium  whose  developement  corresponds  with  that  of  this 
faculty.  Thus  all  the/ercB,*  without  exception,  have  the  squamous 
portion  of  the  temporal  bone  f  enlarged  in  a  perceptible  manner. 
We  may  cite  as  examples,  the  tiger,  the  cat,  the  fox,  the  martin, 
the  weasel,  the  ermine. 

"  In  the  carnivorous  birds  properly  so  called,  the  portion  of  the 
cranium  situated  behind  the  orbit,  corresponds  with  the  organ  of 
carnivorous  instinct,  and  presents  a  remarkable  developement.  In 
the  omnivorous  birds,  the  enlargement  is  a  little  more  posterior." 

The  organ  is  established. 


ALIMENTIVENESS,  OR  ORGAN  OF  THE  APPETITE  FOR  FOOD. 

It  early  occurred  to  Drs.  Gall  and  Spurzheim,  that  the  appetite 
for  food  is  an  instinct  not  referable  to  any  of  the  recognised  prin- 
ciples of  mind,  and  they  therefore  were  disposed  to  view  it  as  a 
primitive  power,  having  a  separate  organ;  but  they  did  not  discover 
its  situation. 

In  the  sheep,  the  olfactory  nerves,  which  are  very  large,  are 
perceived  to  originate  from  two  cerebral  convolutions,  lying  at  the 
base  of  the  middle  lobe  of  the  brain,  adjoining  and  immediately 
below  the  situation  occupied  by  the  organs  of  Destructiveness  in 
carnivorous  animals.  The  sheep  is  guided  in  the  selection  of  its 
food  by  the  sense  of  smell;  and  the  inference  suggests  itself,  that 
these  parts  may  be  the  organs  of  the  instinct  which  prompts  it  to 

*  Beasts  of  prey.  t  Situated  immediately  outward  of  Destructiveness. 


174  ALIMENTIVENESS. 

take  nourishment.  Corresponding  convolutions  occur  in  the  human 
brain,  but  the  functions  of  them  are  not  ascertained,  owing  to  their 
local  situation  presenting  obstacles  to  the  determination  of  their 
size  during  life.  The  conjecture,  however,  seemed  to  me  plausi- 
ble, that  they  might  serve  a  similar  purpose  to  that  here  supposed 
to  belong  to  them  in  the  sheep. 

This  subject  has  attracted  the  notice  of  that  ingenious  phrenol- 
ogist Dr.  Hoppe  of  Copenhagen,  and  he  has  treated  of  it  in  two 
valuable  communications,  published  in  the  Phrenological  Journal, 
Nos.  V.  and  VII.  He  is  of  opinion,  that,  besides  the  nerves  of  the 
stomach  and  palate,  an  affection  of  which  gives  rise  to  the  sensa- 
tions of  hunger  and  thirst,  there  must  also  be  an  organ  in  the  brains 
of  animals  for  the  instinct  of  nutrition  ( taking  nom-ishment  for  the 
preservation  of  life,)  which  incites  them  to  the  sensual  enjoyments 
of  the  palate,  and  the  activity  of  which  is  independent  of  hunger 
and  thirst.  "How,"  says  he,  "should  the  mere  sense  of  hunger, 
more  than  any  other  disagreeable  or  painful  sensation,  make  the 
animal  desire  food,  the  necessity  of  'Such  not  being  known  to  him 
by  experience  ?  This  could  only  be  effected  by  instinct,  because 
either  an  instinct,  i.  e.  the  immediate  impulse  of  an  organ,  or  else 
experience  and  reflection,  are  the  causes  of  all  actions. 

"We  observe,  that  the  chicken  is  no  sooner  out  of  the  egg, 
than  it  picks  the  grain  that  lies  on  the  ground,  and  the  new-born 
babe  sucks  the  nipple.  Is  this  to  be  explained  without  the  sup- 
position of  an  organ  analogous  to  that  which  makes  the  duckling 
immediately  plunge  into  the  water,  or  makes  the  kitten  bite  the 
first  mouse  it  meets  with  ? 

"  Neither  am  I  able  otherwise  to  conceive  how  the  new-born 
animal  can  discriminate  what  is  useful  for  its  nutrition ;  that,  for 
instance,  the  chicken  never  mistakes  gravel  for  grain,  and  that 
the  wild  beasts  always  avoid  poisonous  plants  without  ever  tasting 
them. 

"When  the  child,  even  enjoying  perfect  health,  sucks  till  the 
stomach  is  filled,  in  a  literal  sense  of  the  word,  it  surely  feels  no 
hunger  or  thirst;  yet,  if  laid  to  the  breast,  it  will  continue  sucking, 
even  sometimes  having  thrown  off  the  last  draught  from  overfilling. 


ALIMENTIVENESS.  175 

"If  nothing  but  hunger  and  thirst  impelled  man  to  take  food,  he 
would,  when  satiated,  have  no  appetite  for  meat  and  drink  ;  yet 
we  everj  day  observe  people  that  cannot  resist  the  temptation  of 
surfeiting  themselves  both  with  meat  and  drink,  though  they  know 
it  to  be  noxious,  and  others  again  that  never  are  tempted  to 
gluttony." 

Dr.  Hoppe  adds  several  other  reasons  in  support  of  an  organ 
of  nutrition,  and  suras  up  his  views  in  the  following  words : — 
"  According  to  my  opinion,  hunger  and  thirst  must  be  discrim- 
inated from  the  desire  of  food  which  we  call  appetite ;  for  those  I 
consider  as  only  affections  of  the  stomachical  and  palatic  nerves, 
caused  by  deficiency  of  necessary  supply;  but  appetite  as  an  activity 
of  a  fundamental  animal  instinct,  which  has  in  the  brain  an  organ 
analogous  to  the  rest  of  the  organs.  Yet  there  is  a  very  intimate 
connexion  between  these;  thus,  nothing  can  more  effectually  rouse 
appetite  than  hunger." 

In  lecturing  on  Phrenology,  I  had  for  some  years  pointed  out 
the  part  of  the  brain  above  alluded  to  as  the  probable  seat  of  this 
organ;  and  Dr.  Hoppe,  without  being  aware  of  this  circumstance, 
or  the  reasons  on  which  this  conjecture  was  founded,  arrived  at  a 
similar  conclusion.  He  proceeded  even  so  far  as  to  point  out  an 
external  indication  of  the  size  of  the  organ.  "  Regarding, "  says 
he,  "the  organ  for  taking  nourishment,  I  have  been  led  to  think, 
since  I  wrote  last,  that  the  place  where  its  different  degrees  of 
developement  are  manifested  in  the  living  body,  is  in  the  fossa 
zygomatica,  exactly  under  the  organ  of  Acquisitiveness,  and  before 
that  of  Bestructiveness.  Before  I  had  thought  at  all  of  Phren- 
ology, I  was  struck  with  the  remarkable  largeness  of  the  face  or 
head  of  a  friend  of  mine,  caused,  not  by  prominent  cheek-bones, 
as  in  some  varieties  of  mankind,  but  more  towards  the  ears,  by  the 
great  convexity  of  the  zygomatic  arch.  Knowing  that  this  indi 
vidual  was  exceedingly  fond  of  good  Hving,  and  that,  even  in  spite 
of  a  very  powerful  intellect,  and  propensities  moderate  in  almost 
every  other  respect,  he  was  prone  to  indulge  too  freely  in  the  joys 
of  the  table,  I  afterwards  thought  that  this  form  of  the  head,  and 
tendency  of  the  mind,  might  bear  a  nearer  relation  to  each  other 


176  LOVE  OF  LIFE. 

than  had  at  first  occurred  to  me  ;  and  in  some  other  persons, 
notoriously  known  to  be  fond  of  good  eating  and  drinking,  I  found 
a  confirmation  of  my  suppositions.  This  prominence  of  the  bony 
arch,  I  think,  must  be  an  absolute  consequence  of  the  part  of  the 
cranium  lying  under  the  temporal  muscle  being  pushed  outwai'ds, 
and  diminishing,  in  that  direction,  the  space  of  ihe  fossa.  Besides 
this  greater  convexity  of  the  arch,  the  part  also  of  the  skull  situated 
immediately  above  it,  under  the  organ  of  Acquisitiveness,  will  in 
this  case  be  observed  to  be  more  full  and  protruding.  The  large- 
ness of  head  produced  in  this  way  can  by  no  means  be  mistaken 
for  a  mere  prominent  cheek-bone,  nor  for  the  organs  of  Acquisi- 
tiveness, or  Destructiveness,  or  Constructiveness,  situated  higher, 
behind,  and  in  front  of  it.  Having  found  the  said  parts  in  some 
persons  much  compressed,  in  others  less  so,  and,  as  I  think,  the 
disposition  of  mind  always  proportionate  to  it,  and  not  yet  having 
met  with  any  exceptions,  I  cannot  but  hold  my  opinion  to  be 
true." 

I  have  been  informed  that  Mr.  Crook  also,  without  knowing 
Dr.  Hoppe's  remarks,  had  arrived  at  a  similar  conclusion  as  to  the 
situation  of  the  organ. 

The  external  part  to  which  Dr.  Hoppe  alludes,  was  formerly 
included  by  Dr.  Spurzheim  within  the  limits  of  Destructiveness; 
but  in  Dr.  Gall's  busts  and  plates,  that  organ  was  not  carried  so  far 
forward,  and  the  function  of  the  part  in  question  was  marked  by 
Dr.  Gall  as  unascertained.  Dr.  Spurzheim  now  coincides  in  the 
soundness  of  the  views  of  Dr.  Hoppe,  and  the  organ  is  regarded 
as  probable.  The  part  of  the  brain  indicated  by  these  gentlemen 
is  different  from  the  convolutions  corresponding  to  that  in  which 
the  olfactory  nerves  originate  in  the  sheep.  In  the  human  brain 
the  function  of  that  part  is  therefore  still  unascertained. 


ORGAN    OF    THE    LOVE    OF   LIFE. 

In  conversing  with  a  variety  of  individuals  about  their  mental 
feelings,  no  fact  has  more  forcibly  arrested  my  attention  than  the 
difference  which  exists  in  the  love  of  life.     It  will  be  assumed  by 


LOVE  OF  LIFE.  177 

many,  that  this  is  an  universal  desire,  glowing  with  equal  intensity 
in  all ;  but  this  is  not  the  fact.  All  possess  the  feeling,  but  its 
degrees  vary  much  more  than  is  generally  imagined.  Some  indi^ 
viduals  desire  hfe  so  intensely,  that  they  view  death  as  the  greatest 
calamity;  they  declare,  that  rather  than  part  with  existence,  they 
would  submit  to  live  in  endless  misery;  the  bare  idea  of  annihi- 
lation is  unsupportabie  to  their  imaginations; — and  they  found  an 
argument  for  immortality  on  the  position  that  God  cannot  be  guilty 
of  the  injustice  of  making  them  conscious  of  so  great  a  boon  as 
life,  and  subsequently  depriving  them  of  it ;  to  nave  lived,  accord- 
ing to  them,  gives  an  indefeasible  title  to  continue  to  live.  Other 
individuals,  again,  experience  no  such  passion  for  existence;  they 
regard  pain  and  parting  with  the  objects  of  their  affections,  as  the 
chief  evils  of  death;  so  far  as  the  mere  pleasure  of  living  is  con- 
cerned, they  are  ready  to  surrender  it  with  scarcely  a  feeling  of 
regret;  they  discover  nothing  appalling  in  death,  as  the  mere  ces- 
sation of  being;  and  do  not  feel  the  prospect  of  immortality  to  be 
essential  to  their  enjoyment  of  the  present  life.  I  have  found 
these  different  feelings  combined  with  the  most  -opposite  disposi- 
tions in  all  other  respects;  the  great  lovers  of  life  were  not  always 
the  healthy,  the  gay  and  the  fortunate  ;  nor  were  those  who  were 
comparatively  indifferent  to  death,  always  the  feeble,  the  gloomy 
and  misanthropic  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  feeling  exists  strongly  and 
weakly  in  these  opposite  characters  indiscriminately. 

Neither  does  the  difference  depend  on  the  moral  and  religious 
qualities  of  the  individuals;  for  equal  morality  and  religion  are 
found  in  combination  with  either  sentiment.  This  is  a  point  in 
human  nature  not  generally  adverted  to ;  nevertheless,  I  have 
obtained  so  many  assurances  of  the  existence  of  these  different 
feelings,  from  individuals  of  sound  judgment  and  unquestionable 
veracity,  that  it  appears  to  me  highly  probabiC,  that  there  are  a 
special  faculty  and  organ  for  the  Love  of  Life.  We  seem  to  be 
bound  to  existence  itself  by  a  primitive  instinct,  just  as  we  are  led 
by  other  instincts,  to  provide  for  its  continuance  and  transmission. 
The  organ  is  probably  situated  in  the  base  of  the  brain. 


23 


178  SECRETIVENESS. 

The  only  fact  tending  to  illustrate  its  position,  is  one  observed 
by  Dr.  A.  Combe,  and  recorded  in  the  Phrenological  Journal,  vol. 
iii.  p.  471.  In  describing  the  dissection  of  the  brain  of  a  lady 
upwards  of  sixty,  who  for  many  years  had  been  remarkable  for 
continual  anxiety  about  her  own  death,  he  observes,  that  "the 
enormous  developement  of  one  convolution  at  ihe  base  of  the 
middle  lobe  of  the  brain,  the  function  of  which  is  unknown,  was 
too  striking  not  to  arrest  our  attention;  it  was  that  lying  towards 
the  mesial  line,  on  the  basilar  and  inner  side  of  the  middle  lobe, 
and  consequently  of  Destructiveness.  The  corresponding  part  of 
the  skull  showed  a  very  deep  and  distinctly-moulded  cavity  or  bed 
running  longitudinally,  with  high  and  prominent  sides,  and  present- 
ing altogether  an  appearance  much  more  striking  than  in  any  skull 
I  ever  saw.  From  the  situation  of  this  convolution,  its  devel- 
opement cannot  be  ascertained  during  life,  and  hence  its  function 
remains  unknown.  Whether  it  may  have  any  connexion  with  the 
Love  of  Life  is  a  circumstance  which  may  be  determined  by 
future  observations;  all  that  we  can  say  at  present  is,  that  the 
Love  of  Life,  seems  to  be  a  feeling  sui  generis,  and  not  propor- 
tioned to  any  faculty,  or  combination  of  faculties,  yet  known, — 
that  in  the  subject  of  this  notice  it  was  one  of  the  most  perma- 
nently active  which  she  possessed, — and  that  in  her  the  convolu- 
tion alluded  to  was  of  very  unusual  magnitude ;  but  how  far  the 
coincidence  was  fortuitous,  we  leave  to  time  and  observation  to 
determine." 

7. SECRETIVENESS. 

The  organ  is  situated  at  the  inferior  edge  of  the  parietal  bones, 
immediately  above  Destructiveness,  or  in  the  middle  of  the  lateral 
portion  of  the  brain.  When  the  organ  of  Destructiveness  is  much 
developed,  it  may  be  mistaken,  by  the  inexperienced  observer, 
for  the  organ  of  Secretiveness;  so  that  it  is  necessaiy  to  remark, 
that  the  latter  organ  is  placed  higher,  and  rather  farther  forward, 
than  the  former;  and  that,  instead  of  presenting  the  form  of  a 
segment  of  a  circle,   it  is  extended  longitudinally.     When  both 


SECRETIVENESS.  179 

organs  are  highly  developed,  the  lower  aiid  middle  portion  of  the 
side  of  the  head  is  characterized  by  a  general  fulness. 

Dr.  Gall  gives  the  following  history  of  the  discovery  of  this 
organ.  In  early  youth,  he  was  struck  with  the  character  and  form 
of  the  head  of  one  of  his  companions,  who,  with  amiable  disposi- 
tions and  good  abilities,  was  distinguished  by  cunning  and  finesse. 
His  head  was  very  large  at  the  temples,  and  in  his  natural  attitude 
it  projected  forward.  Although  a  faithful  friend,  he  experienced  an 
extraordinary  pleasure  in  employing  every  possible  device  to  make 
game  of  his  school-fellows,  and  to  deceive  them.  His  natural 
language  was  absolutely  the  expression  of  cunning,  such  as  Dr. 
Gall  had  often  observed  in  cats  and  dogs,  when,  playing  together, 
they  wished  to  give  each  other  the  slip.  At  a  subsequent  period, 
he  had  another  companion,  who,  at  first,  appeared  candor  personi- 
fied; no  one  had  ever  distrusted  him;  but  his  gait  and  manner 
were  those  of  a  cat  watching  a  mouse;  he  proved  false  and  perfid- 
ious, and  deceived,  in  an  unbecoming  manner,  liis  young  school- 
fellows, his  tutors,  and  his  parents.  He  carried  his  head  in  the 
same  attitude  as  before  mentioned;  his  figure  was  handsome;  and 
his  head  exceedingly  large  at  the  temples.  One  of  Dr.  Gall's 
patients,  who  died  of  phthisis,  generally  passed  for  a  very  honest 
man:  after  his  death.  Dr.  Gall  was  struck  with  the  largeness  of  his 
head  in  the  temporal  region;  and  shortly  afterwards  learned,  that 
he  had  cheated  his  acquaintances,  and  even  his  mother,  of  consid- 
erable sums  of  money.  At  Vienna  he  was  often  in  the  company  of 
a  physician,  possessed  of  much  information,  but  who,  on  account 
of  his  character  of  a  cheat,  was  generally  despised.  Under 
pretence  of  dealing  in  objects  of  art,  and  lending  on  pledges,  he 
robbed  all  who  put  confidence  in  him.  He  carried  liis  tricks  and 
cheats  to  such  a  length,  that  the  government  warned  the  public, 
through  the  medium  of  the  public  journals,  to  beware  of  him;  for 
he  had  practised  his  arts  with  such  dexterity,  that  he  could  never 
be  legally  condemned.  He  often  told  Dr.  Gall,  that  he  knew 
no  pleasure  equal  to  that  of  deceiving,  especially  persons  who  dis- 
trusted him  most.  As  the  head  of  this  individual  also  was  very 
large  at  the  temples.  Dr.  Gall  was  impressed  with  the  idea  that 


180  SECRETIVENESS. 

there  is  a  primitive  tendency  towards  cunning  in  the  mind,  and 
that  it  is  manifested  by  tliis  particular  cerebral  organ.  An  immense 
number  of  observations  have  confirmed  his  conjecture. 

The  nature  and  object  of  this  propensity  appear  to  be  the 
following  :  The  various  faculties  of  the  human  mind  are  hable  to 
involuntary  activity  from  internal  causes,  as  well  as  from  external 
excitement.  Thus,  Amativeness  becoming  active,  gives  feelings 
corresponding  to  its  nature  :  Acquisitiveness  inspires  with  strong 
desires  for  wealth  ;  and  Love  of  Approbation  fills  the  mind  with 
projects  of  ambition.  Every  one  will  be  conscious  that  these  or 
similar  feelings,  at  times  rush  into  his  mind  involuntarily,  and 
frequently  refuse  to  depart  at  the  command  of  the  understanding. 
If  outward  expression  were  given  to  these  impulses,  in  all  their 
vivacity,  as  they  arise,  social  intercourse  would  be  disfigured  by  a 
rude  assemblage  of  disgusting  improprieties,  and  man  would  shun 
the  society  of  his  fellows  as  more  loathsome  than  pestilence  or 
famine.  Shakspeare,  whh  that  accuracy  of  observation  which 
distinguishes  him,  has  pourtrayed  this  feature  of  the  human  mind. 

"  Utter  my  thoughts  ?  Why,  say  they  are  vile  and  false — 
As  where  's  that  palace,  whereinto  foul  things 
Sometimes  intrude  not  ?     Who  has  a  breast  so  pure 
But  some  uncleanly  apprehensions 
Keep  leets  and  law-days,  and  in  session  sit 
With  meditations  lawful  ?"  —  Othello,  Act  iii.  Scene  3. 

Some  instinctive  tendency,  therefore,  to  restrain  within  the  mind 
itself,  to  conceal,  as  it  were,  from  the  public  eye  the  various 
desires  and  emotions  which  involuntarily  present  themselves  in  the 
mind,  was  necessary  to  enable  the  understanding  to  regulate  their 
outward  expression  ;  and  nature  appears  to  have  provided  this 
power  in  the  faculty  of  Secretiveness.  It  is  an  instinctive  tendency 
to.  conceal,  and  the  legitimate  object  of  it  appears  to  be,  to  restrain 
the  outward  expression  of  our  thoughts  and  emotions,  till  the  under- 
standing shall  have  pronounced  judgment  on  their  propriety. 

Besides,  man  and  animals  are  occasionally  liable  to  the  assaults 
of  enemies,  which  may  be  avoided  by  concealment,  in  cases  where 
strength  is  wanting  to  repel  them  by  force.      Nature,  therefore,  by 


SECRETIVENESS.  181 

paeans  of  this  propensity,  enables  them  to  add  prudence,  slyness, 
or  cunning,  according  to  the  direction  given  to  it  by  other  faculties 
of  the  individual,  to  their  nneans  of  defence. 

A  sufficient  endovs^ment  of  this  organ  is  essential  to  the  formation 
of  a  prudent  character.  It  then  imposes  a  salutary  restraint  on  the 
fHanifestations  of  the'ot'her  faculties,  and  serves  as  a  defence  against 
prying  curiosity.  "  When  Napoleon,"  says  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
"  thought  himself  closely  observed,  he  had  the  power  of  discharg- 
ing from  his  countenance  all  expression,  save  that  of  a  vague  and 
indefinite  smile,  and  presenting  to  the  curious  investigator  the  fixed 
eyes  and  rigid  features  of  a  marble  bust."  Vol.  iv.  p.  37.  I  have 
observed  this  power  to  be  conferred  by  large  Secretiveness. 
Those  in  whom  it  is  deficient,  are  too  open  for  the  general  inter- 
course of  society  ;  they  are  characterized  by  deficiency  of  tact,  a 
headlong  bluntness  of  manner,  and  the  instantaneous  expression 
of  every  thought  and  emotion,  as  it  flows  into  the  mind,  without 
regard  to  the  proprieties  required  by  time,  place  or  circumstances. 

Mr.  Scott,  in  an  excellent  essay  on  this  propensity,  published 
in  the  Phrenological  Transactions,  observes,  that  it  communicates 
the  desire  to  discover  the  secrets  of  others,  as  well  as  to  conceal 
our  own.  The  author  of  Waverley,  in  his  novel  of  Quenlin 
Durward,*  draws  the  character  of  Louis  XI.  with  exact  fidelity 
to  this  principle  of  our  nature.  The  King,  says  he,  was  "  calm, 
crafty,  and  profoundly  attentive  to  his  own  interest.  He  was 
careful  in  disguising  his  real  sentiments  and  purposes  frotp  all  who 
approached  him,  and  frequently  used  the  expressions, — that  the 
King  knew  not  how  to  reign,  who  knew  not  how  to  dissemble;  and 
that,  for  himself,  if  he  thought  his  very  cap  knew  his  secrets,  he 
would  throw  it  into  the  fire.  Like  all  astutious  persons,  he  was 
as  desirous  of  looking  into  the  secrets  of  others,  as  of  concealing 
his  own."  This  representation  is  historically  correct.  According 
to  this  view,  even  a  large  developement  of  the  organ,  if  combined 
with  good  sentiments,  and  an  enlightened  understanding,  is  a  valu- 
able endowment.  Persons  so  constituted,  possessing  themselves 
the  natural  talent  requisite  for  intrigue,  if  they  choose  to  direct  the 
*  Vol.  i.  p.  7. 


132  SECRETTVENESS. 

faculty  in  that  way,  are  naturally  fitted  to  divine  and  discover 
intrigues  and  secret  raachinations  in  others,  and  to  defeat  them. 
From  the  same  cause  they  read,  with  great  acuteness,  the  natural 
language  of  concealment  in  other  minds,  and  are  able  to  discover, 
by  the  very  air  and  manner  of  a  man,  that  he  is  hiding  some  object 
or  intention,  when  a  person,  in  whom  the  organ  is  small,  could  not 
perceive  such  a  purpose.  In  many  of  the  affairs  of  life  also, 
secrecy  is  indispensable  both  to  prudent  conduct  and  success. 

When  too  energetic,  or  not  properly  directed,  Secretiveness  is 
liable  to  great  abuses.  It  then  leads  to  a  liking  for  concealment, 
intrigue,  and  crooked  policy,  for  their  own  sakes  ;  and  to  a  feeling 
that  it  is  wise  and  clever  to  wrap  up  the  purposes  of  the  mind 
in  the  profoundest  mystery  :  cunning  is  mistaken  for  ability,  and 
deceit  for  practical  wisdom.  It  may  prompt  to  the  use  of  lies, 
hypocrisy,  intrigue,  or  dissimulation,  as  means  to  gain  an  end. 
Persons  in  whom  it  predominates,  judging  of  mankind  in  general 
by  themselves,  are  never  able  to  see  the  affairs  of  the  world,  or 
the  conduct  of  others,  in  a  plain  and  simple  point  of  view,  but 
imagine  life  to  be  a  continual  stratagem,  in  which  every  one  is 
endeavoring  to  overreach  his  neighbor.  Such  persons  conceive,' 
that  the  eye  of  the  world  is  always  looking  into  their  breasts,  to 
read  the  purposes  that  are  there  hatched,  but  which  discovery  they 
are  resolved  to  prevent.  The  propensity  in  some  instances  finds 
gratification  in  the  most  trifling  mysteries ;  an  individual  under  its 
predominating  influence  will  conceal  his  going  out,  his  coming  inJ 
his  engagements,  and  all  his  transactions ;  even  although  commuJ 
nication  of  these  would  greatly  facilitate  domestic  arrangements* 
In  an  argument  a  secretive  man  will  evade  all  admissions. 

Dr.  Johnson  mentions  of  Pope,  that  he  took  so  "  great  deli§ 
in  artifice,  that  he  endeavored  to  attain  all  his  purposes  by  indirec| 
and  unsuspected  methods ;  he  hardly  drank  tea  without  a  stratagem^ 
He  practised  his  arts  on  such  small  occasions,  that  Lady  Boling-j 
broke  used  to  say  in  a  French  phrase,  that  he  played  the  politicia 
about  cabbages  and  turnips.''^ 

Mercantile  men,  in  whom  this  organ  predominates,  occasionallj 
conceal  their  circumstances,  so  that  wife  and  children  proceed  in 


SECRETIVENESS.  183 

the  unsuspecting  enjoyment  of  imagined  prosperity,  till  bankruptcy, 
like  the  explosion  of  a  mine,  involves  them  in  instantaneous  ruin» 
These  individuals  generally  plead  in  excuse,  a  pretended  regard 
to  the  feelings  of  their  relatives  :  but  the  distrust  implied  in  such 
conduct,  is  a  greater  injury  to  sensitive  minds,  than  the  evils  they 
attempt  to  hide.  The  real  sources  of  their  conduct  are  an  over- 
weening Self-esteem,  which  cannot  stoop  to  acknowledge  misconduct 
or  misfortune,  and  an  inordinate  Secretiveness,  inspiring  them  with 
an  instinctive  aversion  to  candid  and  unresarved  communication > 
A  favorite  maxim  with  such  men,  is,  that  secrecy  is  the  soul  of 
trade.    It  is  so,  only  in  narrow  minds  misguided  by  this  propensity. 

Persons  in  whom  this  organ  is  large,  and  who  believe  that  they 
really  conceal  their  true  character  from  the  world,  are  much  startled 
at  the  exposure  which  Phrenology  is  said  to  make  of  the  dispo- 
sitions of  the  mind,  and  they  feel  great  difficulty  in  believing  it 
practicable  to  compare  genuine  mental  feelings  with  developement 
of  brain,  because  they  imagine  that  real  motives  and  dispositions 
are  never  exhibited  in  conduct.  Such  persons  err,  however,  in 
their  estimate  even  of  their  own  powers  of  concealment ;  for, 
Secretiveness  does  not  alter  the  aim,  but  affects  only  the  means 
of  obtaining  gratification  of  our  ordinary  desires  ;  and,  besides, 
if  disguise  be  really  the  forte  of  their  cnaracter.  Phrenology  has 
the  advantage  of  them  still ;  for  it  exhibits  the  organ  of  Secretive- 
ness large,  and  in  their  very  concealment  they  will  manifest  most 
powerfully  the  faculty  whose  organ  is  most  fully  developed. 

Innumerable  abuses  of  this  propensity  occur  in  the  ordinary 
intercourse  of  society.  How  pohte,  acquiescent,  and  deferential, 
are  some  persons  in  their  manners  to  all  who  are  present ;  and  how 
severe  in  their  vituperations,  when  the  same  individuals  are  gone  ! 
This  "conduct  results  from  Secretiveness  addressing  itself  to  Love 
of  Approbation  in  others,  and  endeavoring  to  please  them  by  pro- 
fessions of  feigned  respect.  .  Many  persons  would  not,  for  any  con- 
sideration, mention  a  disagreeable  truth  to  an  acquaintance.  This 
also  arises  from  an  abuse  of  the  same  faculty,  combined  with  great 
Love  of  Approbation. 

To  Mr.  Scott  is  due  the  merit  of  throwing  great  light  on  the 


184  SECRETIVENESS. 

influence  of  Secretiveness  in  producing  humor.  The  power  of 
representing,  with  a  face  of  perfect  gravity,  some  ludicrous  inci- 
dent, is  one  species  of  humor.  In  this,  the  grave  exterior,  the 
command  over  the  outward  expression  of  the  face,  while  the 
most  ludicrous  ideas  are  internally  perceived,  is  just  a  species 
of  slyness,  and  is  clearly  attributable  to  Secretiveness.  This  kind 
of  humor  also  is  absolutely  addressed  to  Secretiveness  in  others. 
We,  as  spectators,  see  the  internal  absurdity  through  the  external 
gravity,  and  this  gratifies  our  Secretiveness,  which  likes  to  pen- 
etrate disguises  assumed  by  others,  as  well  as  to  disguise  itself 
Another  species  of  humor  consists  in  detecting  and  exposing  little 
concealed  purposes  and  intentions  in  our  friends,  and  holding  them 
up  to  view  in  all  their  nothingness,  when  they  are  mystifying  or 
concealing  them  as  matters  of  real  importance.  "  The  man  of 
humor,"  says  Mr.  Scott,  "delights  in  detecting  these  little  pieces 
of  deception  :  and  the  ludicrous  effect  of  this  seems  to  arise  from 
the  incongruity  which  appears  between  the  real  and  the  assumed 
character,  the  contrast  between  what  is  intended  to  be  apparent  at 
the  surface,  and  that  which  is  seen  to  be  at  the  bottom."  It  is 
proper  to  observe,  however,  that  -Secretiveness  affords  only  the 
slyness,  the  savoir  faire,  together  with  the  tact  of  detecting  little 
concealed  weaknesses  implied  in  humor  ;  and  that  the  faculty  of 
Wit  is  necessary,  in  addition,  more  or  less,  to  produce  ludicrous 
effect  in  the  representation.  Thus,  a  person  with  much  Wit,  and 
little  Secretiveness,  will  not  excel  in  humor,  although  he  may  shine 
in  pure  wit.  A  person,  on  the  other  hand,  with  much  Secretive- 
ness, and  moderate  Wit,  may  excel  in  humor,  although,  in  intel- 
lectual witty  combinations,  he  may  make  but  an  indifferent  figure. 
It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  the  Italians  and  English,  in  whom  Secre- 
tiveness is  large,  delight  in  humor,  while  the  French,  in  whom  the 
organ  is  moderate,  can  scarcely  imagine  what  it  is.  In  conform- 
ity with  these  differences  in  national  developement,  the  English 
and  Italians  practise  a  prudent  reserve  in  their  intercourse  with 
strangers,  while  the  French  are  open  to  excess,  and  communicate 
even  their  private  affairs  to  casual  acquaintances.  The  French  also 
delight  to  live,  and  even  to  die,  in  public  ;  while  the  Englishman 


SECRETIVENESS.  181 

means  of  this  propensity,  enables  them  to  add  prudence,  slyness, 
or  cunning,  according  to  the  direction  given  to  it  by  other  faculties 
of  the  individual,  to  their  means  of  defence. 

A  sufficient  endowment  of  this  organ  is  essential  to  the  formation 
of  a  prudent  character.  It  then  imposes  a  salutary  restraint  on  the 
manifestations  of  the  other  faculties,  and  serves  as  a  defence  against 
prying  curiosity.  "  When  Napoleon,"  says  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
"  thought  himself  closely  observed,  he  had  the  power  of  discharg- 
ing from  his  countenance  all  expression,  save  that  of  a  vague  and 
indefinite  smile,  and  presenting  to  the  curious  investigator  the  fixed 
eyes  and  rigid  features  of  a  marble  bust."  Vol.  iv.  p.  37.  I  have 
observed  this  power  to  be  conferred  by  large  Secretiveness. 
Those  in  whom  it  is  deficient,  are  too  open  for  the  general  inter- 
course of  society  ;  they  are  characterized  by  deficiency  of  tact,  a 
headlong  bluntness  of  manner,  and  the  instantaneous  expression 
of  every  thought  and  emotion,  as  it  flows  into  the  mind,  without 
regard  to  the  proprieties  required  by  time,  place  or  circumstances. 

Mr.  Scott,  in  an  excellent  essay  on  this  propensity,  published 
in  the  Phrenological  Transactions,  observes,  that  it  communicates 
the  desire  to  discover  the  secrets  of  others,  as  well  as  to  conceal 
our  own.  The  author  of  Waverley,  in  his  novel  of  Quentin 
Durward,*  draws  the  character  of  Louis  XL  with  exact  fidelity 
to  this  principle  of  our  nature.  The  King,  says  he,  was  "calm, 
crafty,  and  profoundly  attentive  to  his  own  interest.  He  was 
careful  in  disguising  his  real  sentiments  and  purposes  from  all  who 
approached  him,  and  frequently  used  the  expressions, — that  the 
King  knew  not  how  to  reign,  v/ho  knew  not  how  to  dissemble;  and 
that,  for  himself,  if  he  thought  his  very  cap  knew  his  secrets,  he 
would  throw  it  into  the  fire.  Like  all  astutious  persons,  he  was 
as  desirous  of  looking  into  the  secrets  of  others,  as  of  concealing 
his  own."  This  representation  is  historically  correct.  According 
to  this  view,  even  a  large  developement  of  the  organ,  if  combined 
with  good  sengjl^as,  and  an  enhghtened  understanding,  is  a  valu- 
able endowm^^^^Fersons  so  constituted,  possessing  themselves 
the  natural  talent  requisite  for  intrigue,  if  they  choose  to  direct  the 
*  Vol.  i.  p.  7. 


182  SECRETIVENESS. 

faculty  in  that  way,  are  naturally  fitted  to  divine  and  discover 
intrigues  and  secret  machinations  in  others,  and  to  defeat  them. 
From  the  same  cause  they  read,  with  great  acuteness,  the  natural 
language  of  concealment  in  other  minds,  and  are  able  to  discover, 
by  the  very  air  and  m^anner  of  a  man,  that  he  is  hiding  some  object 
or  intention,  when  a  person,  in  whom  the  organ  is  small,  could  not 
perceive  such  a  purpose.  In  many  of  the  affairs  of  life  also, 
secrecy  is  indispensable  both  to  prudent  conduct  and  success. 

When  too  energetic,  or  not  properly  directed,  Secretiveness  is 
liable  to  great  abuses.  It  then  leads  to  a  liking  for  concealment, 
intrigue,  an4  crooked  policy,  for  their  own  sakes  ;  and  to  a  feeling 
that  it  is  wise  and  clever  to  wrap  up  the  purposes  of  the  mind 
in  the  profoundest  mystery  :  cunning  is  mistaken  for  ability,  and 
deceit  for  practical  wisdom.  It  may  prompt  to  the  use  of  lies, 
hypocrisy,  intrigue,  or  dissimulation,  as  means  to  gain  an  end. 
Persons  in  whom  it  predominates,  judging  of  mankind  in  general 
by  themselves,  are  never  able  to  see  the  affairs  of  the  world,  or 
the  conduct  of  others,  in  a  plain  and  simple  point  of  view,  but 
imagine  life  to  be  a  continual  stratagem,  in  which  every  one  is 
endeavoring  to  overreach  his  neighbor.  Such  persons  conceive, 
that  the  eye  of  the  world  is  always  looking  into  their  breasts,  to 
read  the  purposes  that  are  there  hatched,  but  which  discovery  they 
are  resolved  to  prevent.  The  propensity  in  some  instances  finds 
gratification  in  the  most  trifling  mysteries ;  an  individual  under  its 
predominating  influence  will  conceal  his  going  out,  his  coming  in, 
his  engagements,  and  all  his  transactions ;  even  although  commu- 
nication of  these  would  greatly  facilitate  domestic  arrangements. 
In  an  argument  a  secretive  man  will  evade  all  admissions. 

Dr.  Johnson  mentions  of  Pope,  that  he  took  so  "  great  delight 
in  artifice,  that  he  endeavored  to  attain  all  his  purposes  by  indirect 
and  unsuspected  methods;  he  hardly  drank  tea  without  a  stratagem. 
He  practised  his  arts  on  such  small  occasions,  that  Lady  Boling- 
broke  used  to  say  in  a  French  phrase,  that  he  BmunicV^^^^  politician 
about  cabbages  and  turnips.''^  ^jich  '^' 

Mercantile  men,  in  whom  this  organ  predominates,  occasionally 
conceal  their  circumstances,  so  that  wife  and  children  proceed  in 


SECRETIVENESS.  183 

the  unsuspecting  enjoyment  of  imagined  prosperity,  till  bankruptcy, 
like  the  explosion  of  a  mine,  involves  them  in  instantaneous  ruin. 
These  individuals  generally  plead  in  excuse,  a  pretended  regard 
to  the  feelings  of  their  relatives  :  but  the  distrust  implied  in  such 
conduct,  is  a  greater  injury  to  sensitive  minds,  than  the  evils  they 
attempt  to  hide.  The  real  sources  of  their  conduct  are  an  over- 
weening Self-esteem,  which  cannot  stoop  to  acknowledge  misconduct 
or  misfortune,  and  an  inordinate  Secretiveness,  inspiring  them  with 
an  instinctive  aversion  to  candid  and  unreserved  communication. 
A  favorite  maxim  with  such  men,  is,  that  secrecy  is  the  soul  of 
trade.    It  is  so,  only  in  narrow  minds  misguided  by  this  propensity. 

Persons  in  whom  this  organ  is  large,  and  who  believe  that  they 
really  conceal  their  true  character  from  the  world,  are  much  startled 
at  the  exposure  which  Phrenology  is  said  to  make  of  the  dispo- 
sitions of  the  mind,  and  they  feel  great  difficulty  in  believing  it 
practicable  to  compare  genuine  mental  feelings  with  developement 
of  brain,  because  they  imagine  that  real  motives  and  dispositions 
are  never  exhibited  in  conduct.  Such  persons  err,  however,  in 
their  estimate  even  of  their  own  powers  of  concealment ;  for, 
Secretiveness  does  not  alter  the  aim,  but  affects  only  the  means 
of  obtaining  gratification  of  our  ordinary  desires ;  and,  besides, 
if  disguise  be  really  the  forte  of  their  cnaracter,  Phrenology  has 
the  advantage  of  them  still ;  for  it  exhibits  the  organ  of  Secretive- 
ness large,  and  in  their  very  concealment  they  will  manifest  most 
powerfully  the  faculty  whose  organ  is  most  fully  developed. 

Innumerable  abuses  of  this  propensity  occur  in  the  ordinary 
intercourse  of  society.  How  polite,  acquiescent,  and  deferential, 
are  some  persons  in  their  manners  to  all  who  are  present ;  and  how 
severe  in  their  vituperations,  when  the  same  individuals  are  gone  ! 
This  conduct  results  from  Secretiveness  addressing  itself  to  Love 
of  Approbation  in  others,  and  endeavoring  to  please  them  by  pro- 
fessions of  feigned  respect.  Many  persons  would  not,  for  any  con- 
sideration, mei^H^a  disagreeable  truth  to  an  acquaintance.  This 
also  arises  fron^Rbuse  of  the  same  faculty,  combined  with  great 
Love  of  Approbation. 

To  Mr.  Scott  is  due  the  merit  of  throwing  great  light  on  the 


184  SECRETIVENESS. 

influence  of  Secret! veness  in  producing  humor.     The  power  of 
representing,  with  a  face  of  perfect  gravity,  some  hidicrous  inci- 
dent, is  one  species  of  humor.     In  this,  the  grave  exterior,  the 
command    over   the    outward   expression  of  the  face,  while  the 
most  ludicrous    ideas   are  internally  perceived,  is  just  a  species 
of  slyness,  and  is  clearly  attributable  to  Secretiveness.     This  kind 
of  humor  also  is  absolutely  addressed  to  Secretiveness  in  others. 
We,  as  spectators,  see  the  internal  absurdity  through  the  external 
gravity,  and  this  gratifies  our  Secretiveness,  which  likes  to  pen- 
etrate disguises  assumed  by  others,  as  well  as  to  disguise  itself. 
Another  species  of  humor  consists  in  detecting  and  exposing  little 
concealed  purposes  and  intentions  in  our  friends,  and  holding  them 
up  to  view  in  all  their  nothingness,  when  they  are  mystifying  or 
concealing  them  as  matters  of  real  importance.     "The  man  of 
humor,"  says  Mr.  Scott,  "delights  in  detecting  these  little  pieces 
of  deception  :  and  the  ludicrous  effect  of  this  seems  to  arise  from 
the  incongruity  which  appears  between  the  real  and  the  assumed 
character,  the  contrast  between  what  is  intended  to  be  apparent  at 
the  surface,  and  that  which  is  seen  to  be  at  the  bottom."     It  is 
proper  to  observe,  however,  that  Secretiveness  affords  only  the 
slyness,  the  savoir  faire^  together  with  the  tact  of  detecting  httle 
concealed  weaknesses  implied  in  humor  ;  and  that  the  faculty  of 
Wit  is  necessary,  in  addition,  more  or  less,  to  produce  ludicrous 
effect  in  the  representation.     Thus,  a  person  with  much  Wit,  and 
little  Secretiveness,  will  not  excel  in  humor,  although  he  may  shine 
in  pure  wit.     A  person,  on  the  other  hand,  with  much  Secretive- 
ness, and  moderate  Wit,  may  excel  in  humor,  although,  in  intel- 
lectual witty  combinations,  he  may  make  but  an  indifferent  figure. 
It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  the  Italians  and  English,  in  whom  Secre- 
tiveness is  large,  delight  in  humor,  while  the  French,  in  whom  the 
organ  is  moderate,  can  scarcely  imagine  what  it  is.     In  conform- 
ity with  these  differences  in  national  developement,  the  English 
and  Italians  practise   a  prudent   reserve  in  thMBfctercourse  with 
strangers,  while  the  French  are  open  to  excess^^id  communicate 
even  their  private  affairs  to  casual  acquaintances.    The  French  also 
delight  to  live,  and  even  to  die,  in  public  ;  while  the  Englishman 


SECRETIVENESS.  185 

shuts  himself  up  in  his  house,  which  he  denominates  his  castle,  and 
debars  all  the  world  from  observing  his  conduct.  Other  faculties 
contribute  to  these  varieties  of  taste,  but  Secretiveness  is  an  essen- 
tial element  in  the  relish  for  retirement. 

I  have  uniformly  found  Secretiveness  large  in  the  heads  of  actors 
and  artists,  and,  of  these,  I  have  been  permitted  to  examine  a 
considerable  number.  In  the  cast  of  Miss  Clara  Fisher's  head,  it 
will  be  seen  amply  developed.  The  theory  of  its  effects  in  aiding 
the  former  seems  to  be  this :  The  actor  must  conceal  or  shade  his 
real  character,  and  put  forth  the  natural  language  of  an  asstimed 
one.  Now,  Secretiveness  will  enable  liim  to  suppress  or  withhold 
all  the  faculties  which  are  not  essential  to  the  personage  whom 
he,  for  the  time,  represents;  while,  by  withdrawing  its  restraints 
from  other  faculties,  it  will  allow  them  to  manifest  themselves  with 
full  energy.  Thus,  suppose  an  actor,  in  whom  Benevolence 
and  Conscientiousness  are  large,  to  be  called  on  to  play  lago,  a 
character  in  which  selfishness  and  villany  predominate,  then  Secre- 
tiveness will  enable  him  to  suppress  the  natural  language  of  his 
own  superior  faculties,  while,  by  withdrawing  its  influence  from 
Combativeness,  Destructiveness,  and  Self-Esteem,  it  will  permit 
the  most  forcible  expression  of  these  in  looks,  tones  and  gestures  ; 
and  this  will  be  lago  to  the  life.  It  aids  the  artist  in  a  similar  way. 
It  is  known,  that  a  painter  or  sculptor,  in  working  a  figure,  studies 
first  the  mental  feelings  which  it  is  intended  to  pourtray,  then  goes 
to  a  mirror,  and  produces  the  expression  of  them  in  his  own 
person,  and  copies  it  in  his  picture  or  block  of  marble.  In  this 
process,  he  resembles  an  actor,  and  Secretiveness  assists  him  in 
the  manner  before  explained.  In  this  analysis,  I  differ  in  one 
point  from  Mr.  Scott.  He  thinks  that  Secretiveness  confers  not 
only  the  negative  power  of  suppressing  the  real  character,  but  also 
the  positive  power  of  calling  up,  at  will,  the  natural  language  of 
such  faculties  as  we  wish  to  exhibit  for  the  time.  Thus,  some 
persons  are  abk^to  load  others  with  expressions  of  great  esteem, 
attachment,  and  good  will,  when  internally  they  hate  them.  Mr. 
Scott  conceives  that  Secretiveness  enables  such  individuals  not  only 
24 


186  SECRETIVENESS. 

to  disguise  their  real  enmity,  but  to  call  up  for  the  occasion  the 
natural  language  of  Adhesiveness,  Benevolence,  Veneration,  and 
Love  of  Approbation,  and  to  use  these  as  instruments  of  deception. 
This  latter  effect  appears  to  me  to  depend  on  Imitation. 

When  Secretiveness  and  Cautiousness  are  both  very  large,  there 
is  a  great  tendency  to  extreme  reserve,  and  even,  when  little 
knowledge  of  the  world  is  possessed,  to  suspicion  and  terror  of 
dark  designs  and  sinister  plots,  hatching  on  every  hand  against  the 
unhappy  possessor  of  this  combination.  In  general,  these  plots 
have  no  existence  beyond  the  internal  feelings  produced  by  those 
faculties. 

Secretiveness,  with  small  Conscientiousness,  predisposes  to 
lying,  and,  combined  with  Acquisitiveness,  to  theft.  Indeed, 
Secretiveness  is  more  invariably  large  in  thieves  than  Acquisitive- 
ness ;  and  it  prompts  to  this  crime,  probably  by  the  feeling  of 
secrecy  which  it  generates  in  the  mind.  It  gives  the  idea  that  all  is 
hidden,  and  that  no  eye  sees,  and  no  intellect  will  be  able  to  trace 
the  fraud.  It  produces  also  that  capacity  for  sly  cunning  which  is 
essential  to  a  thief.  An  excellent  elucidation,  by  Dr.  Andrew 
Combe,  of  the  effects  of  Secretiveness,  as  a  constituent  element  in 
the  character  of  a  thief,  will  be  found  in  the  Phrenological  Journal, 
vol.  i.  p.  611.  The  organ  is  large  in  David  Haggart,  and  in  a 
variety  of  executed  thieves,  whose  casts  have  been  obtained.  It 
is  large,  also,  in  John  Gibson,  a  boy  who  manifested  very  extra- 
ordinary powers  of  deception  at  eight  years  of  age.  His  case 
is  reported  at  full  length,  by  Mr.  David  Bridges  junior,  in  the 
Phrenological  Transactions,  vol.  i.  p.  289.  On  3d  December, 
1823,  I  visited  in  Edinburgh  jail,  John  Reid,  a  lad  of  sixteen, 
under  sentence  of  death  ( but  subsequently  respited ) ,  for  house- 
breaking and  theft.  His  head  was  uncommonly  large  for  his  years, 
and  the  organ  of  Secretiveness,  in  particular,  was  enormously 
developed.  Acquisitiveness  also  was  large,  and  Conscientiousness 
deficient.  The  Reverend  Mr.  Porteous,  chaplain  to  the  jail, 
mentioned,  that  Reid's  power  of  concealing  1^  thoughts  and 
feelings  was  most  extraordinary,  and  that  daring  and  secrecy  were 


1 


SECRETIVENESS.  187 

manifested  in  his  crime,  in  a  degree  that  was  almost  mconceivable. 
He  had  mounted  on  the  shoulders  of  an  accomplice  to  the  second 
story  of  a  dwelling-house,  entered  by  a  window,  and,  although 
persons  slept  in  the  bedrooms  of  that  floor,  and  the  lamp  in  the 
lobby  was  burning,  he  proceeded  down  stairs,  reached  the  dining- 
room,  robbed  the  side-board  of  plate,  and  got  clear  off  without 
being  heard. 

Another  effect  of  great  Secretiveness,  especially  when  aided  by 
much  Firmness,  is  to  produce  the  power  of  repressing,  to  an  indef- 
inite extent,  all  outward  expression  of  pain,  even  when  amounting 
to  positive  torture.  Ann  Ross  (whose  case  is  reported  by  Mr. 
Richard  Carmichael  of  Dublin,*)  with  a  view  to  excite  the  com- 
passion of  some  pious  and  charitable  ladies,  thrust  needles  into  her 
arm  to  produce  disease,  and  carried  the  deception  so  far  as  to  allow 
her  arm  to  be  amputated  without  revealing  the  cause.  The  needles 
were  found  on  dissection,  and  she  was  more  mortified  by  the  dis- 
covery of  the  trick,  than  afflicted  by  the  loss  of  her  arm.  She 
manifested  the  same  faculty  in  a  variety  of  other  deceptions.  I 
examined  her  head,  and  Mr.  Carmichael  also  furnished  the  Phren- 
ological Society  with  a  cast  of  it,  and  in  it  the  organs  of  Secretive- 
ness and  Firmness  are  decidedly  large.  The  North  American 
Indians  also  are  celebrated  for  their  power  of  enduring  torture,  and 
the  same  combination  occurs  in  casts  of  two  of  their  skulls  in  the 
Society's  collection.  It  is  not  large  in  the  Negroes,  and  they  are 
an  open  minded  race  compared  with  the  cunning  varieties  of  man- 
kind. 

Dr.  Murray  Patterson  mentions,  that  the  Hindoos  manifest 
Secretiveness  in  a  high  degree,  in  the  form  of  cunning  and  dupli- 
city, and  the  organ  is  very  large  in  their  heads. 

This  propensity,  when  predominantly  active,  produces  a  close 
sly  look  ;  the  eyes  roll  from  side  to  side  ;  the  voice  is  low  ;  the 
shoulders  are  drawn  up  towards  the  ears,  and  the  footstep  is  soft 
and  ghding.  T^he  movements  of  the  body  are  towards  the  side. 
Sir  Walter  Scott  accurately  delineates  the  look  produced  by  this 
faculty  and  Cautiousness  in  the  following  lines. 

*  Phren.  Journ.  No.  v. 


188  SECRETIVENESS. 

Speaking  of  Cormac  Doll,  he  says, 

"  FoT  evil  seemed  that  old  man's  eye 
Dark  and  designing,  fierce  yet  shy, 
Still  he  avoided  forward  look, 
But  slow  and  circumspectly  took 
A  circling  never  ceasing  glance, 
By  doubt  and  cunning  marked  at  once  ; 
Which  shot  a  mischief-boding  ray, 
From  under  eye-brows  shagged  and  gray." 

Lord  of  the  Isles,  Canto  iv.  p.  24. 

When  this  organ  is  very  large  in  the  head  of  an  author,  it  produces 
a  curious  effect  on  his  style.  The  different  members  of  his  sen- 
tences are  involved,  parenthetical,  and  often  obscure,  as  if  he  were 
in  doubt  whether  he  selected  the  proper  place  for  his  expressions, 
and  hesitated  between  what  he  ought  to  put  down  and  what  he 
might  leave  to  be  understood.  He  is  also  liable  to  quaintness. 
Pope's  style  occasionally  indicates  this  quality,  and  the  faculty  is 
strongly  manifested  in  his  character.  Dr.  Thomas  Brown's  style, 
also,  is  characterized  by  Secretiveness,  and  the  organ  was  large 
in  his  head.  Croly's  poetry  presents  the  expression  of  it.  Gold- 
smith's writings  display  a  moderate  endowment.  This  faculty,  by 
enabling  an  author  skilfully  to  work  up  his  incidents  and  events,  and 
to  conceal  the  denouement  of  his  plot  or  story,  till  the  most  appro- 
priate time  and  place  for  the  elucidation,  greatly  aids  him  in  pro- 
ducing effect. 

It  prompts,  says  Dr.  Gall,  the  general  of  an  army  to  the  use 
of  stratagems  to  deceive  the  enemy,  while  it  leads  him  to  conceal 
his  own  forces  and  enterprises,  to  make  false  attacks  and  counter- 
feited marches. 

This  organ  is  possessed  by  the  lower  animals,  and  Dr.  Gall 
remarks,  that  it  requires  a  particular  study  in  each  species.  In 
the  common  species  of  ape,  for  example,  it  commences  above  the 
origin  of  the  zygomatic  arch,  and  extends  forward  to  nearly  the 
middle  of  this  bone.  Its  situation  is  the  same  in  the  tiger,  cat  and 
fox.  In  carnivorous  animals,  and  in  birds  distinguished  for  cun- 
ning, this  region  will  also,  in  general,  be  found  large. 

Manifestations  of  this  propensity,  clearly  attributable  to  disease 


SECRETIVENESS.  189 

of  the  organ,  are  described  by  authors  on  insanity.  The  cunning 
shown  by  many  of  the  insane,  especially  in  concealing  their  true 
state,  has  often  excited  astonishment.  Fodere  speaks  of  two 
patients  who  had  been  long  confined  in  the  asylum  at  Marseilles. 
After  an  apparent  cure  of  considerable  duration,  their  friends 
demanded  their  dismissal.  He,  however,  suspected  deception,  and 
determined  to  hold  a  long  conversation  with  them.  For  an  hour 
and  a  half,  during  which  he  avoided  the  kind  of  ideas  in  regard  to 
which  he  knew  them  to  be  insane,  they  spoke,  reasoned,  and 
aeted  like  men  of  sound  judgment.  But  when  he  introduced  the 
subject  which  excited  their  diseased  faculties,  their  eyes  began  to 
sparkle,  the  muscles  of  the  face  to'  contract,  and  an  evident  agita- 
tion took  place,  accompanied  with  an  effort  to  preserve  calmness. 
They  were  ordered  to  be  detained.  Pinel  mentions  the  cunning 
and  tricks  of  some  lunatics  as  remarkable.  Dr.  Marshall  *  notices 
the  case  of  a  man  in  Bethlem  Hospital  in  1789,  who  fancied  he 
was  a  great  man.  "  He  was  very  crafty,  and  used  much  flattery 
to  the  keepers,  calling  them  'fine  men,  gentlemen,'  especially 
when  he  wanted  any  indulgence  ;  but  when  his  complacent  looks 
and  genteel  expressions  did  not  avail  him,  he  became  revengeful, 
made  up  some  plausible  story  against  them,  and  slyly  told  it  to 
the  steward.  When  fresh  patients  came  into  the  house,  he  always 
introduced  himself  to  them  ;  he  was  very  civil  to  them,  and,  after 
gaining  their  confidence,  he  tried  to  get  their  money  from  them, 
which,  if  he  could  not  do  by  other  means,  he  had  recourse  to 
stratagem  to  get  possession  of  it." 

The  regular  metaphysicians  have  not  admitted  any  faculty  cor- 
responding to  this  propensity,  nor  am  I  aware  that  they  give  any 
theory  of  cunning,  although  it  is  an  obvious  ingredient  in  human 
nature.  The  quality,  however,  is  familiarly  recognised  by  a 
variety  of  writers.  Lord  Bacon,  in  his  Essay  on  Cunning,  graph- 
ically describes  a  number  of  the  abuses  of  Secretiveness.  "  We 
take  cunning,"  says  he,  "  for  a  sinister  or  crooked  wisdom,  and 
certainly  there  is  a  great  difference  between  a  cunning  man  and 
a  wise  man,  not  only  in  point  of  honesty,  but  in  point  of  ability. 

*  Pasre  192. 


190 


SECKETIVENESS. 


There  be  that  can  pack  the  cards,  and  yet  cannot  play  well ;  so 
there  are  some  that  are  good  in  canvasses  and  factions,  that  are 
otherwise  weak  men."  The  following  illustrations  are  extracted 
from  this  essay: — "I  knew,"  says  Bacon,  "one  that,  when  he 
wrote  a  letter,  he  would  put  that  which  was  most  material  in  the 
postscript,  as  if  it  had  been  a  by  matter.  I  knew  another  that, 
when  he  came  to  have  speech,  would  pass  over  that  he  intended 
most,  and  go  forth  and  come  back  again,  and  speak  of  it  as  a 
thing  he  had  almost  forgot.  It  is  strange  how  long  some  men  will 
lie  in  wait  to  speak  somewhat  they  desire  to  say  ;  and  how  far 
about  they  will  fetch,  and  how  many  other  matters  they  will  beat 
over  to  come  near  it :  it  is  a  thing  of  great  patience,  but  yet  of 
much  use." 

Chesterfield  thus  counsels  his  son: — "There  are  many  inof- 
fensive arts  which  are  necessary  in  the  Mjourse  of  the  world,  and 
which  he  who  practices  the  earliest  will  please  the  most  and  rise 
the  soonest.  The  principle  of  these  things  is  the  mastery  of  ones 
temper,  and  that  coolness  of  mind  and  serenity  of  countenance 
which  hinder  us  from  discovering,  by  words,  actions,  or  even  looks, 
those  passions  by  which  we  are  inwardly  moved  or  agitated ; 
and  the  discovery  of  which  gives  cooler  and  abler  people  such 
infinite  advantages  over  us,  not  only  in  great  business,  but  in  all 
the  most  common  occurrences  of  life.  A  man  who  does  not  pos- 
sess himself  enough  to  hear  agreeable  things  without  sudden 
bursts  of  joy  and  expansion  of  countenance,  is  at  the  mercy  of 
every  artful  knave  or  pert  coxcomb."  To  the  same  effect  is  a 
saying  of  Solomon, — "A  fool  uttereth  all  his  mind;  but  a  wise 
man  keepeth  it  till  afterwards."  (Prov.  xxix.  11.) 


Hindoo. 


Cetlonese. 


Secret! veness  large. 


Secretiveness  small. 


ACQUISITIVENESS.  191 

In  Peveril  of  the  Peak,  we  have  the  following  dialogue.  "  Your 
Grace  holds  his  wisdom  very  high,"  said  the  attendant.  "  His 
cunning  at  leasts  I  do,"  replied  Buckingham,  "  which,  in  Court 
affairs,  often  takes  the  weathergage  of  wisdom." 

The  organ  is  estabhshed. 

8. ACQUISITIVENESS. 

The  organ  of  this  faculty  is  situated  at  the  anterior  inferior 
angle  of  the  parietal  bone.  By  Dr.  Spurzheira  it  was  called 
Covetiveness  ;  Sir  G.  S.  Mackenzie  suggested  the  more  appro- 
priate name  of  Acquisitiveness,  which  Dr.  Spurzheim  has  since 
adopted. 

The  metaphysicians  have  not  admitted  a  faculty  in  the  mind,  the 
function  of  which  is  to  produce  the  propensity  to  acquire,  and 
which  is  gratified  by  the  mere  act  of  acquisition,  without  any 
ulterior  object.  Dr.  Hutcheson  says,  "  Thus,  as  soon  as  we 
come  to  apprehend  the  use  of  wealth  or  power  to  gratify  any  of 
our  original  desires,  we  must  also  desire  them  ;  and  hence  arises 
the  universality  of  these  desires  of  wealth  and  power,  since  they 
are  the  means  of  gratifying  all  other  desires.''^  In  like  manner, 
we  are  told  by  Mr.  Stewart,  that,  "  Whatever  conduces  to  the 
gratification  of  any  natural  appetite,  or  of  any  natural  desire,  is 
itself  desired,  on  account  of  the  end  to  lohich  it  is  subservient ; 
and  by  being  thus  habitually  associated  in  our  apprehension  with 
agreeable  objects,  it  frequently  comes,  in  process  of  time,  to  be 
regarded  as  valuable  in  itself,  independently  of  its  utility.  It  is 
thus  that  wealth  becomes  with  many  an  ultimate  object  of  pursuit  ; 
though,  at  first,  it  is  undoubtedly  valued,  merely  on  account  of  its 
subserviency  to  the  attainment  of  other  objects."* 

The  same  author  says  in  another  place,  that  "  avarice  is  a  par- 
ticular modification  of  the  desire  of  power ;  arising  from  the  various 
functions  of  money  in  a  commercial  country.  Its  influence  as  an 
active  principle  is  much  strengthened  by  habit  and  association."! 

Dr.  Thomas  Brown  |  admits  the  desire  of  wealth  to  be  a  modi 
*  Elements,  p.  388.  t  Outlines,  p.  92.  i  Vol.  iii.  p.  474, 


19i  ACQUISITIVENESS. 

fication  of  the  desire  of  power,  but  he  endeavors  to  show,  that 
Mr.  Stewart's  theory  is  defective  in  accounting  for  avarice,  and 
enters  into  a  most  ingenious  speculation,  to  explain  how  that 
feeling  arises  from  association.  He  takes  Time  into  account,  as 
an  ingredient;  and  takes  the  example  of  a  boy  purchasing  an  apple. 
"  Before  the  boy  lays  out  his  penny  in  the  purchase  of  an  apple 
or  an  orange,"  says  he,  "  it  appears  to  him  valuable,  chiefly 
as  the  mode  of  obtaining  the  apple  or  orange.  But  the  fruit,  agree- 
able as  it  may  have  been  while  it  lasted,  is  soon  devoured; — its 
value,  with  respect  to  him,  has  wholly  ceased  ;  and  the  penny,  he 
knows,  is  still  in  existence,  and  would  have  been  still  his  oicn, 
if  the  fruit  had  not  been  purchased.  He  thinks  of  the  penny, 
therefore,  as  existing  now,  and  existing  without  any  thing  which 
he  can  oppose  to  it  as  equivalent;  and  the  feeling  of  regret  arises, 
— the  wish,  that  he  had  not  made  the  purchase,  and  that  the  penny, 
as  still  existing,  and  equally  capable  as  before  of  procuring  some 
new  enjoyment,  had  continued  in  his  pocket."  This  produces 
"a  slight  terror  of  expense,  which  the  habits  of  many  years  may 
strengthen  into  parsimony." 

Nothing  can  be  more  ingenious  than  this  speculation,  and  it  is  a 
beautiful  instance  of  the  nature  of  metaphysical  science  ;  but  it  is 
not  sound.  The  question  occurs.  Why  is  this  "  slight  terror  of 
expense  "  experienced  only  by  some  boys  and  some  men,  since 
association  and  the  love  of  enjoyment  are  universal  qualities  of 
human  nature  ? 

It  is  proper  to  mention,  however,  that  Lord  Kames  (who  has 
been  censured  by  the  regular  metaphysicians  for  admitting  too 
many  faculties,)  recognises  the  existence  of  this  feeling  as  a  primi- 
tive propensity  in  man,  and  calls  it  the  "  hoarding  appetite.  Man," 
says  his  Lordship,  "is  by  nature  a  hoarding  animal,  having  an 
appetite  for  storing  up  things  of  use  ;  and  the  sense  of  property 
is  bestowed  on  men  for  securing  what  they  thus  store  up."*  He 
adds,  that  "  the  appetite  for  property,  in  its  nature  a  great  blessing, 
degenerates  into  a  great  curse,  when  it  transgresses  the  bounds  of 
moderation." 

*  Sketches,  B.  i.  sect.  2. 


ACQUISITIVENESS.  193 

The  observer  of  the  passion  of  avarice  in  real  life,  is  not  satisfied 
with  the  theories  of  Mr.  Stewart  and  Dr.  Brown.  Dr.  King,  in 
the  Political  and  Literary  Anecdotes  of  his  own  time,  remarks, 
that  an  avaricious  man  "is  born  and  framed  to  a  sordid  love  of 
money,  which  first  appears  when  he  is  very  young,  grows  up  with 
him,  and  increases  in  middle  age,  and,  when  he  is  old,  and  all  the 
rest  of  his  passions  have  subsided,  wholly  engrosses  him."  He 
mentions  Lord  Chancellor  Hardwick,  the  Duke  of  Marlborough, 
Sir  James  Lowther,  Sir  Thomas  Colby,  and  Sir  William  Smith, 
as  remarkable  instances  of  it. 

The  metaphysical  notions  of  Mr.  Stewart  fail  entirely  to  explain 
the  phenomena  of  avarice,  under  which  passion  no  enjoyment  is 
sought,  except  that  of  accumulating  wealth.  The  character  of 
Trapbois,  as  drawn  in  the  "Fortunes  of  Nigel,"  and  admirably 
represented  on  the  Edinburgh  stage  by  Mr.  Mason,  is  a  personifi- 
cation of  the  faculty  of  Aquisitiveness,  operating  as  a  blind  animal 
instinct,  exalted  to  the  highest  degree  of  energy  and  activity,  and 
extinguishing  every  feeling  of  the  mind,  except  that  of  fear  ;  which 
it  had  cultivated  and  increased  to  minister  to  its  protection.  This 
character  is  recognised  as  natural  ;  highly  colored,  indeed,  but 
true  to  life  in  its  leading  features.  It  appears  absurd,  therefore,  to 
ascribe,  as  the  metaphysicians  do,  so  intense  a  passion  to  a  mere 
law  of  association  as  its  source,  to  an  error  of  the  understanding, 
in  mistaking  wealth  for  the  objects  which  it  is  fitted  to  obtain.  The 
very  essence  of  the  character  is  a  desire  for  wealth,  independent 
of  every  purpose  of  application.  Phrenologists  have  observed, 
that  the  intensity  of  the  desire  to  acquire,  is  in  proportion  to  the 
size  of  a  certain  part  of  the  brain,  and  they,  therefore,  regard  it  as 
an  original  propensity  of  the  mind.  The  organ  was  discovered  in 
the  following  manner  : 

When  Dr.  Gall  was  employed  in  comparing  mental  manifesta- 
tions with  cerebral  developement,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  collecting 
in  his  house  numbers  of  the  lower  orders,  with  the  view  of  more 
easily  discovering  the  different  primitive  propensities,  which  he 
supposed  would  be  found  to  operate  in  them  with  greater  simplicity 
and  vigor,  than  in  persons  of  a  higher  rank.  On  many  of  these 
2.5 


194  ACQUISITIVENESS. 

occasions,  the  individuals  assembled,  encouraged  by  him  to  famil- 
iarity, accused  each  other  of  petty  larcenies,  or  of  what  they  styled 
chiperies,  and  took  great  pleasure  in  pointing  out  those  who 
excelled  in  such  practices  ;  and  the  chipeurs  themselves  advanced 
in  front  of  their  companions,  proud  of  their  superior  savoir-faire. 
What  particularly  attracted  his  attention  was,  that  some  of  these 
men  showed  the  utmost  abhorrence  of  thieving,  and  preferred 
starving  to  accepting  any  part  of  the  bread  and  fruit  which  their 
companions  had  stolen,  while  the  chipeurs  ridiculed  such  conduct, 
and  thought  it  silly. 

To  discover  whether  this  tendency  to  pilfer  was  connected  with 
any  particular  cerebral  organ,  Dr.  Gall  divided  the  persons  whom 
he  had  assembled  into  three  classes;  ihe  first  included  the  chipeurs; 
the  second,  those  who  abhorred  the  very  idea  of  stealing  ;  and  the 
third,  those  who  seemed  to  regard  it  with  indifference.  On  com- 
paring the  heads  of  these  three  classes,  ho  was  much  surprised 
to  find,  that  the  most  inveterate  chipeurs  had  a  long  prominence 
extending  from  the  organ  of  Secretiveness,  almost  as  far  as  the 
external  angle  of  the  superciliary  ridge,  and  that  this  region  was  flat 
in  all  those  who  showed  a  horror  of  theft,  while  in  those  who  were 
indifferent  about  it,  the  part  was  sometimes  more  and  sometimes 
less  developed,  but  never  so  much  as  in  the  professed  thieves;  and 
on  repeating  the  experiment  again  and  again  with  a  new  assemblage, 
he  found  the  same  results  uniformly  present  themselves. 

Having  thus  ascertained  the  constancy  of  the  facts,  the  idea 
naturally  occurred  to  the  mind  of  Dr.  Gall,  that  the  propensity  to 
appropriate  must  be  somehow  connected  with  the  peculiarity  of 
cerebral  configuration,  which  had  so  strongly  attracted  his  notice. 
It  could  not  be  the  effect  of  education,  for  most  of  the  subjects 
of  his  observations  had  received  none.  They  were  the  children  of 
nature  left  to  their  own  resources.  Some  who  detested  stealing 
happened  to  be  precisely  those  whose  education  had  been  most 
completely  neglected.  The  wants  and  circumstances  of  all  of 
them  were  nearly  the  same, — the  examples  set  before  them  were 
the  same, — and  to  what  cause,  therefore,  could  the  difference  be 
ascribed,  if  not  to  an  original  difference  of  mental  constitution  ? 


ACQUISITIVENESS.  195 

At  this  time  Dr.  Gall  was  physician  to  the  Deaf  and  Dumb 
Institution,  where  pupils  were  received  from  six  to  fourteen  years 
of  age,  without  any  preliminary  education.  M.  May,  a  distin- 
guished psychologist,  then  director  of  the  establishment,  M.  Venus, 
the  teacher,  and  he,  had  it  thus  in  their  power  to  make  the  most 
accurate  observations  on  the  primitive  moral  condition  of  these 
children.  Some  of  them  were  remarkable  for  a  decided  propen- 
sity for  stealing,  while  others  did  not  show  the  least  inclination  to 
it, — some  of  them  were  easily  reformed,  but  others  were  quite 
incorrigible.  The  severest  punishments  were  inflicted  upon  one 
of  them,  but  without  any  effect.  As  he  felt  himself  incapable  of 
resisting  temptation,  he  resolved  to  be  a  tailor,  because,  as  he 
said,  he  could  then  indulge  his  inclination  with  impunity.  On 
examining  the  heads  of  all  these  boys,  the  same  region  was  found 
to  be  uniformly  developed,  in  proportion  to  the  endowment  of  the 
propensity.  He  made  casts  of  those  of  them  who  were  confirmed 
thieves,  in  order  to  compare  them  with  such  other  heads  of  thieves 
or  robbers  as  might  afterwards  fall  in  his  way. 

About  this  time,  also.  Dr.  Gall  met  with  another  very  decisive 
proof  of  the  connexion  between  this  propensity  and  a  particular 
developement  of  brain.  In  the  House  of  Correction  he  saw  a  boy 
of  fifteen  years  of  age,  who  had  been  a  notorious  thief  from  his 
earliest  infancy.  Punishment  having  had  no  effect  upon  him.  he 
was  at  last  condemned  to  confinement  for  life  as  absolutely  incor- 
rigible. In  a  portrait  of  him  in  the  26th  plate  of  Dr.  Gall's  work, 
a  remarkable  prominence  in  the  lateral  region  of  the  head  is  con- 
spicuous, corresponding  to  what  is  now  ascertained  to  be  the  organ 
of  Acquisitiveness.  The  forehead  is  low,  narrow,  and  retreating, 
and  his  intellect  is  stated  to  be  weak  and  defective  to  a  great 
degree  ;  and  hence  the  ascendency  and  activity  of  the  propensity 
in  question  are  easily  explained. 

The  instinctive  appetite  for  accumulation,  produced  by  this 
faculty,  viewed  only  in  itself,  presents  a  mean  and  vulgar  aspect^ 
and  we  are  apt  to  regard  the  individual,  in  whom  it  predominates, 
as  a  base  and  sordid  being,  cased  in  selfishness,  and  dead  to  every 
generous  feeling.     But  when  we  view  it  in  its  results,  it  rises  vastly 


196  ACQUISITIVENESS. 

in  dignity  and  importance.  The  first  demand  of  nature  is  to  live 
and  to  enjoy;  and  without  Acquisitiveness  the  other  feelings  of  the 
mind  would  prompt  man  to  kill  and  eat,  or  to  weave  and  wear, 
for  the  satisfaction  of  his  present  wants.  But  if  he  bounded  his 
industry  by  his  necessities,  and  lolled  in  idleness  while  not  employ- 
ed in  indispensable  pursuits,  although  he  might  not  starve  while  in 
possession  of  health  and  strength,  he  would  never  become  rich. 
Wealth  consists  of  the  savings  of  industry,  after  supplying  imme- 
diate demands  :  Now,  according  to  the  metaphysicians,  there  is  no 
instinctive  propensity  in  man,  prompting  him,  by  a  natural  impulse, 
to  save  and  to  accumulate;  they  imagine  that  the  calls  of  nature  for 
immediate  gratification,  or  the  love  of  power,  are  the  only  motives 
to  such  exertions.  In  the  faculty  of  Acquisitiveness,  however, 
the  Phrenologist  perceives  an  instinct  prompting  the  human  being, 
after  his  appetites  of  hunger  and  thirst  are  appeased,  and  his  person 
protected  against  the  elements  of  heaven,  to  labor  from  the  mere 
delight  of  accumulating  ;  and  to  the  ceaseless  industry  which  this 
instinct  produces,  is  to  be  ascribed  the  wealth  with  which  civilized 
man  is  every  where  surrounded.  It  prompts  the  husbandman,  the 
artisan,  the  manufacturer,  the  merchant,  to  activity  in  their  several 
vocations  ;  and,  instead  of  being  necessarily  the  parent  only  ot 
a  miserable  and  degraded  appetite,  it  is  one  of  the  sources, 
when  properly  directed,  of  the  comforts  and  elegances  of  life.  Its 
regular  activity  distinguishes  civilized  man  from  the  savage.  The 
prodigal,  who  consumes  the  last  shilling  which  he  can  command, 
dies  and  leaves  not  a  trace  of  his  existence  behind  him.  The 
laborious  artisan,  on  the  other  hand,  who,  under  the  impulse  of 
this  faculty,  consumes  only  half  the  produce  of  his  labor,  leaves 
the  other  half,  as  a  contribution  to  the  stock  of  national  capital, 
to  maintain  and  set  in  motion  the  industry  of  generations  unborn. 
These,  if  animated  by  the  same  spirit,  will  leave  it  with  new 
accessions  to  their  posterity ;  and  thus  the  stream  of  public  prosper- 
ity will  be  swelled,  in  an  increasing  ratio,  to  the  remotest  periods 
of  time.  When,  however,  the  pursuit  of  wealth  becomes  the  busi- 
ness of  life,  Acquisitiveness  usurps  the  place  of  the  moral  sentiments, 
perverts  the  intellect,  and  becomes  the  source  of  the  greatest  evils 


ACQUISITIVENESS.  197 

The  faculty  produces  a  general  tendency  to  acquire,  which  takes 
its  particular  direction  from  the  other  faculties  with  which  it  is 
combined.  In  a  great  collector  of  objects  of  natural  history,  this 
organ  and  Individuality  ai-e  large:  in  a  collector  of  pictures,  tms 
organ,  Constructiveness,  and  Ideality,  are  full  ;  in  a  collector  of 
old  coins.  Acquisitiveness  and  Veneration  are  large.  In  short,  m 
no  instance  where  tlie  desire  to  acquire  and  possess  is  strongly 
manifested,  is  this  organ  deficient ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  in 
those  in  whom  there  is  no  appetite  for  accumulation,  who  allow 
their  substance  to  slip  thi'ough  their  hands,  through  incapacity  to 
retain  it,  I  have  seen  it  small.  It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  Mr.  Owen 
of  New  Lanark  maintains,  that  the  desire  for  wealth,  or  individual 
property,  is  not  a  natural  instinct  of  the  human  mind  ;  and  in  his 
own  head,  this  organ,  like  that  of  Destructiveness,  the  feeling 
attached  to  which  he  also  denies,  is  by  no  means  largely  developed. 
So  difierently  do  those  feel  in  whom  Acquisitiveness  is  large, 
that  they  desire  to  acquire  for  the  mere  sake  of  acquisition.  If 
a  person  so  endowed  be  ovraer  of  fifty  acres,  it  will  give  him 
infinite  delight  to  acquire  fifty  more  ;  if  of  one  thousand  or  one 
hundred  thousand,  he  will  still  be  gratified  in  adding  to  their 
number.  His  understanding  may  be  perfectly  convinced  that  he 
already  possesses  ample  store  for  every  enjoyment,  and  abundant 
provision  against  every  want ;  but  yet,  if  this  faculty  be  active, 
he  will  feel  his  joys  impaired,  if  he  ceases  to  amass.  This 
explains  the  insatiable  nature  of  the  passion  to  acquire,  and  the 
source  also  of  the  disappointment  generally  experienced  by  persons 
whose  fives  have  been  devoted  to  commerce,  when  they  retire 
from  business  with  a  view  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  industry. 
The  gratification  of  Acquisitiveness  in  accumulating  wealth,  con- 
stituted the  chief  pleasure  of  their  previous  lives  ;  and  when  this 
propensity  ceases  to  be  indulged,  and  no  other  faculty  has  been 
cultivated  with  equal  ai'dor,  ennui  and  disgust  are  the  natural  and 
unavoidable  results  of  their  new  situation. 

It  has  been  stated,  as  an  objection  to  this  propensity,  that  prop- 
erty is  an  institution  of  society,  and  that  an  organ  cannot  exist  in 
the  brain  for  a  factitious  desire.     The  answer  to  this  argument  is, 


198  ACQUISITIVENESS. 

that  the  idea  of  property  springs  from  the  instinctive  suggestions 
of  the  faculty  in  question  ;  and  that  the  laws  of  society  are  the 
consequences,  and  not  the  causes,  of  its  existence.  They  are 
intended  to  regulate  the  desires  of  manldnd  for  possessions  ;  but 
this  purpose  clearly  supposes  such  desires  antecedently  to  exist. 

Many  persons,  in  whom  Benevolence  and  Love  of  Approbation 
are  large,  as  well  as  Acquisitiveness,  can,  with  difficulty,  believe 
that  the  latter  influences  their  feelings.  They  are  so  ready  to 
disburse  and  to  bestow  that  they  never  accumulate,  and  hence 
persuade  themselves  that  they  have  no  tendency  to  acquire.  But 
such  persons  are  keen  in  their  dealings,  they  cheapen  in  making 
purchases,  know  where  bargains  are  to  be  obtained  ;  and,  on  con- 
sulting their  own  minds,  will  find  that  schemes  of  acquiring  pro- 
perty frequently  haunt  their  imaginations.  They  are  also  prone 
to  admire  the  rich.  Persons,  on  the  contrary,  in  whom  the  organ 
is  small,  think  of  every  thing  with  more  interest,  and  pursue  every 
object  with  more  avidity,  than  wealth.  They  may  be  mdustri- 
ous  to  live,  but  there  is  no  intense  energy  in  their  pursuit  of 
gain  ;  and  their  fancies,  in  building  castles  in  the  air,  rarely  erect 
palaces  of  gold,  or  place  happiness  in  hordes  of  accumulated 
riches. 

The  effects  of  this  faculty  are  greatly  modified  by  the  strength 
of  Self-Esteem.  The  propensity  in  question  desires  to  acquire  ; 
Self-Esteem  produces  the  love  of  self;  the  two  conjoined,  give 
rise  to  the  Love  of  Acquisition  for  self-gratification ;  and  if  both 
organs  be  large,  the  individual  will  have  a  strong  tendency  to 
sordid  selfishness,  unless  the  moral  and  reflecting  powers  be  par- 
ticularly active  and  energetic.  The  passion  for  uniques  also  seems 
to  arise  from  this  combination. 

Dr.  Gall  states  this  organ  to  be  little  developed  in  the  skulls 
of  the  Caribs.  In  accordance  with  this,  travellers  say  that  they 
are  little  prone  to  theft ;  and,  therefore,  says  Rochester,  in  his 
History  of  the  Antilles,  when  they  are  robbed,  they  always  insist 
that  it  must  have  been  by  a  Christian.  The  Negroes  are  also  little 
prone  to  steal,  and  the  organ  is  moderately  developed  in  them 
Dr.  Gall   had   an  opportunity  of  observing   among  the  Spanisn 


ACQUISITIVENESS.  199 

troops,  that  both  the  Arragonese  and  Castilians  have  ihe  anterior 
part  of  the  temporal  region  a  good  deal  flattened,  denoting  a  small 
Acquisitiveness  ;  and  he  was  assured  that  they  are  the  most  faithful 
servants,  and  equally  incapable  of  stealing  as  of  lying.  The  Kal- 
mucks, again,  are  the  very  opposite.  They  have  been  renowned 
for  thieving  and  bad  faith  ;  and  in  accordance  with  this,  Blumen- 
bach,  an  opponent  of  Phrenology,  in  describing  the  Kalmuck  skull, 
observes,  that  it  projects  in  the  region  of  Acquisiuveness,  "  capita 
ad  latera  extantia.''  Dr.  Gall  possesses  two  Kalmuck  skulls,  and 
both  correspond  with  Blumenbach's  description.  Dr.  Spurzheim 
also  tells  us,  "  that  a  young  Kalmuck,  brought  to  Vienna  by  Count 
Stahrenberg,  became  melancholy,  because  his  confessor,  who 
instructed  him  in  rehgion  and  morality,  had  forbidden  him  to  steal. 
He  got  permission  to  steal,  on  condition  that  he  should  give  back 
what  he  had  stolen.  The  young  man,  profiting  by  this  permission, 
stole  his  confessor's  watch  during  high  mass,  but  joyfully  returned 
it  after  mass  was  over." 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  a  miser  without  a  great  endowment  of 
this  propensity,  although  an  individual  may  be  a  thief  with  a  mode- 
rate portion  of  it.  Avarice  arises  from  Acquisitiveness,  raised  to 
the  height  of  a  passion.  Theft  implies  a  want  of  regulating  and 
directing  influence  from  the  moral  facuhies,  as  much  as  an  exces- 
sive and  intense  desire  to  acquire  property  for  the  sake  of  posses- 
sing it.  Strong  sensual  propensities,  which  cannot  be  gratified 
without  money,  may  lead  individuals  to  resort  to  theft  as  a  means 
of  supplying  their  wants,  without  the  love  of  property  itself  being 
strong  ;  but  Conscientiousness  must  be  weak,  and  Secretiveness 
powerful,  before  such  an  expedient  can  be  resorted  to. 

The  existence  of  this  organ  throws  light  on  the  tendency  to  steal, 
which  some  individuals,  whose  external  circumstances  place  them 
far  above  temptation,  manifest  in  a  remarkable  degree.  In  them, 
it  seems  to  be  in  a  state  of  diseased  activity,  and  not  to  be  con- 
trolled by  the  moral  and  reflecting  faculties.  Dr.  Gall  mentions 
several  cases  of  diseased  affections  of  this  propensity.  M.  Kneis- 
ler,  governor  of  the  prison  of  Prague,  spoke  to  him  and  Dr 
Spurzheim  about  the  wife  of  a  rich  merchant,  who  stole  continually 


200  ACQUISITIVENESS. 

from  her  husband  in  the  most  adroit  manner,  and  who  was  at  last 
shut  up  in  a  house  of  correction,  which  she  had  scarcely  left,  when 
she  stole  again,  and  was  again  confined.  She  was  condemned  to 
a  third  and  longer  imprisonment,  and  again  commenced  her  opera- 
lions  in  the  jail  itself.  With  the  utmost  address,  she  made  a  hole 
in  the  stove,  which  heated  the  apai'tment  in  which  the  money  was 
deposited,  and  committed  repeated  depredations,  which  were  soon 
noticed.  Every  means  were  adopted  to  detect  the  offender,  and 
bells  were  suspended  at  the  doors  and  windows,  but  all  in  vain. 
At  length  a  spring-gun  was  set,  the  wire  of  which  was  connected 
with  the  strong  box.  She  was  so  dreadfully  frightened  by  its 
explosion,  that  she  had  not  time  to  escape  through  the  stove.  At 
Copenhagen,  Drs.  Gall  and  Spurzheim  saw  an  incorrigible  thief, 
who  sometimes  distributed  the  produce  of  his  larcenies  to  the  poor; 
and,  in  another  place,  a  robber,  who  was  in  confinement  for  the 
seventh  time,  assured  them  with  sorrow,  that  he  felt  himself  unable 
to  act  otherwise.  He  begged  to  be  detained  in  prison,  and  to  be 
provided  with  the  means  of  supporting  himself. 

At  Munster,  a  man  was  condemned  to  imprisonment  for  eight 
years,  on  account  of  some  robberies: — He  was  no  sooner  liberated 
than  he  committed  fresh  depredations,  and  was  thereupon  impris- 
oned for  life.  Sixteen  years  thereafter  he  revealed  a  conspiracy 
which  had  been  formed  among  the  criminals,  and  it  was  proposed 
to  reward  him  by  setting  him  free.  The  judge  objected  to  this, 
that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  do  so,  as  the  man  himself  had  previ- 
ously assured  him  that  his  thievish  propensity  was  so  rooted  in  his 
constitution  that  he  could  not  by  any  possibility  resist  it.  About 
a  year  after,  he  escaped  from  prison,  betook  himself  to  his  old 
practices,  and  was  again  arrested ;  shortly  after  which  he  hanged 
himself.  "  During  ten  years  that  I  have  known  this  man  in  the 
prison,"  said  Werneking,  from  whom  Drs.  Gall  and  Spurzheim 
got  these  details,  "he  was  remarkable  for  activity  and  devotion 
during  divine  service  ;  but  I  learned  after  his  death,  that  he  had 
constantly  been  committing  theft,  even  in  the  prison  itself." 

Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that,  among  the  young  men  confined  in  one 
of  the  prisons  of  Berlin  (Stadtvogtey),  one  in  particular  attracted 


ACQUISITIVENESS.  201 

the  attention  of  Dr.  Spurzheim  and  himself.  They  strongly- 
recommended  never  to  set  him  at  liberty,  as  they  thought  it  impos- 
sible he  could  ever  abstain  from  stealing.  They  explained  their 
motives  to  the  gentlemen  who  accompanied  them,  and,  on  exam- 
ining the  registers,  the  latter  were  much  surprised  to  find  that 
the  man  had  from  infancy  manifested  the  strongest  tendency  to 
thieving.  The  organs  of  the  highest  sentiments  were  extremely 
deficient,  while  that  of  Acquisitiveness  had  acquired  the  highest 
degree  of  developement  and  energy.  Its  activity  was  also  greatly 
aided  by  his  immense  endowment  of  Secretiveness.  The  man 
himself  was  little  and  deformed;  his  forehead  "  villanously  low," 
and  depressed  backwards  immediately  above  the  eyebrows,  but  the 
lateral  regions,  or  temples,  were  broad  and  prominent.  In  such 
a  case  no  phrenologist  would  hesitate  to  give  the  same  advice. 

In  the  prison  at  Berne,  Drs.  Gall  and  Spurzheim  saw  a  rickety 
and  badly  organized  boy  of  twelve  years  of  age,  who  could  not 
refrain  from  stealing;  and  who,  with  his  pockets  filled  with  his  own 
bread,  purloined  that  of  others.  At  Haina,  the  officers  spoke  to 
them  about  an  incorrigible  robber,  named  Fesselmayer,  whom  no 
punishment  could  amend.  He  stole  in  prison  to  such  an  extent, 
that  a  mark  was  put  upon  his  arm,  that  all  might  be  upon  their 
guard  against  him.  Before  seeing  him,  Drs.  Gall  and  Spurzheim 
stated  what  his  developement  ought  to  be,  and  their  prediction  was 
verified  at  the  first  glance.  He  had  the  appearance  of  being 
sixteen,  although  he  was  in  reality  twenty-six  years  of  age.  His 
head  was  round,  and  about  the  size  of  that  of  an  infant  of  one  year. 
He  was,  moreover,  deaf  and  dumb. 

Numerous  examples  of  the  diseased  activity  of  this  propensity 
occur  in  all  lunatic  asylums,  and  afford  strong  proof  of  the  inde- 
pendent existence  of  the  faculty  and  organ.  Pinel  tells  us,  that  it 
is  a  matter  of  common  observation,  that  men  who,  in  their  lucid 
intervals,  are  justly  considered  as  models  of  probity,  cannot  refrain 
from  stealing  and  cheating  during  the  paroxysm;  and  Dr.  Gall  gives 
four  cases  of  women,  who,  in  their  ordinary  state,  had  no  such 
tendency,  but  who,  when  pregnant,  manifested  it  in  a  high  degree. 

Two  citizens  of  Vienna  attracted  his  notice,  both  of  whom  had 
26 


202  ACQUISITIVENESS. 

led  irreproachable  lives  previous  to  becoming  insane.  After  that 
time  both  were  distinguished  for  an  extraordinary  inclination  to 
steal.  They  wandered  over  the  hospital  from  morning  to  night, 
picking  up  whatever  they  could  lay  their  hands  upon, — straw,  rags, 
clothes,  wood,  &c.,  which  they  carefully  concealed  in  the  apart- 
ment which  they  inhabited  in  common  ;  and,  although  lodged  in 
the  same  chamber,  they  stole  from  each  other.  In  both  the  organ 
was  very  much  developed. 

M.  Esquirol,  physician  to  the  Salpetriere  of  Paris,  gave  Dr. 
Gall  an  account  of  a  Knight  of  Malta,  who  had  quitted  the  army  at 
the  beginning  of  the  French  revolution,  and  who,  from  excessive 
indulgence  and  disappointed  love,  had  become  weak  in  intellect, 
violent  in  temper,  and  at  last  a  thief.  On  his  way  to  M.  Esquirol's 
asylum,  he  contrived  to  steal  spoons,  covers,  &c.  from  the  inns  at 
which  he  dined.  He  then  went  about  accompanied  by  a  servant, 
and  not  unfrequently  refreshed  himself  in  coffee-houses,  and,  instead 
of  paying,  put  the  cup,  saucer,  and  spoon  in  his  pocket,  and  walk- 
ed away.  In  other  respects  he  was  sufficiently  reasonable.  This 
inclination  to  theft  was  cured,  although  his  intellect  remained  weak. 

Acrel  mentions  a  young  man  who  was  trepanned,  in  consequence 
of  a  severe  wound  on  the  temple,  in  the  region  of  the  organ  of 
Acquisitiveness.  After  his  dismissal  from  the  hospital,  he  mani- 
fested an  irresistible  propensity  to  steal,  and  after  committing  sev- 
eral larcenies,  he  was  imprisoned,  and  would  have  been  condemned, 
had  not  Acrel  declared  him  insane. 

"There  are  persons,"  says  that  accurate  and  philosophical 
observer  and  physician,  Dr.  Rush  of  Philadelphia,*  "who  are 
moral  to  the  highest  degree  as  to  certain  duties,  but  who,  neverthe- 
less, live  under  the  influence  of  some  one  vice.  In  one  instance 
a  woman  was  -  exemplary  in  her  obedience  to  every  command  of 
the  moral  law  except  one,  — she  could  not  refrain  from  stealing. 
What  made  this  vice  more  remarkable  was,  that  she  was  in  easy 
circumstances.)  and  not  addicted  to  extravagance  in  any  thing. 
Such  was  the  propensity  to  this  vice,  that,  when  she  could  lay  her 
hands  upon  nothing  more  valuable,  she  would  often,  at  the  table 
*  Rush's  Medical  Inquiries. 


ACQUISITIVENESS.  203 

of  a  friend,  fill  her  pockets  secretly  with  bread.  She  both  con- 
fessed and  lamented  her  crime." 

The  Journal  de  Paris  of  29th  March,  1816,  states,  that  "An 
ex-commissary  of  police,  Beau-Conseil,  has  just  been  condemned 
to  eight  years'  confinement  and  hard  labor,  and  to  the  pillory,  for 
having,  when  still  in  office,  stolen  some  pieces  of  plate  from  an 
inn.  The  accused  persisted  to  the  last  in  an  odd  enough  species 
of  defence.  He  did  not  deny  the  crime,  but  he  attributed  it  to 
mental  alienation,  occasioned  by  wounds  which  he  had  received 
at  Marseilles  in  1815."  Dr.  Gall  observes,  that  if  the  previous 
conduct  of  Beau-Conseil  was  irreproachable,  and  if  he  did  really 
receive  a  wound  in  the  iiead,  either  his  defender  was  inexcusable 
in  not  making  the  defence  available,  or  the  Court  was  blameable  in 
not  listening  to  it. 

This  propensity  is  found  also  in  the  lower  animals.  Lord 
Kames  observes,  that  "  the  beavers  perceive  the  timber  they  store 
up  to  be  their  property  ;  and  the  bees  seem  to  have  the  same  per- 
ception with  regard  to  their  winter  provision  of  honey."  Dr.  Gall 
also  mentions  a  variety  of  the  lower  animals  which  manifest  the 
sense  of  property.  The  same  pair  of  storks,  swallows,  nightingales, 
and  redbreasts  return,  in  spring  a  in  autumn,  to  the  same  country 
in  which  they  had  passed  the  season  in  the  preceding  year,  and 
establish  themselves,  the  storks  on  the  same  steeples,  the  swallows 
under  the  same  roofs,  and  the  nightingales  in  the  same  bushes.  If 
another  pair  of  birds  attempt  to  seize  the  place  already  appropri- 
ated, war  is  immediately  waged  against  them,  and  the  intruders  are 
forced  to  depart.  Cows  returning  from  the  pasturage,  occupy 
each  its  own  stall  in  the  byre,  and  defend  it.  The  cat  and  dog, 
in  hiding  food,  to  be  used  when  hunger  returns ;  and  the  squirrel, 
hamster,  and  jackdaw,  which  collect  provisions  for  the  winter, — 
undoubtedly  have  the  notion  of  property  in  the  stores  they  accu- 
mulate. These  animals,  however,  do  not  enact  laws  ;  and  the 
sense  of  property  is  in  them  an  instinct  of  nature.  In  the  human 
race,  says  Dr.  Gall,  the  process  is  the  same  ;  nature  inspires  the 
mind  with  the  notion  of  property,  and  laws  are  made  to  protect  it. 

This  organ  is  established. 


204  CONSTRUCTIVENESS. 


9. CONSTRUCTIVENESS. 

This  organ  is  situated  at  that  part  of  the  frontal  bone  imme- 
diately above  the  spheno-temporal  suture.  Its  appearance  and 
situation  vary  slightly,  according  to  the  developement  of  the  neigh- 
boring parts.  If  the  zygomatic  process  is  very  projecting,  or  if  the 
middle  lobes  of  the  brain,  or  the  forehead  in  general,  or  the  organs 
of  Language  and  Order  in  particular,  are  greatly  developed,  its  size 
is  less  easily  distinguished.  The  leading  object  ought  to  be  to 
determine  the  actual  size  of  each  organ,  and  not  its  mere  promi- 
nence ;  and,  on  this  account,  it  is  proper  farther  to  notice,  that,  if 
the  base  of  the  brain  is  narrow,  this  organ  holds  a  situation  a  little 
higher  than  usual,  and  there  will  then  frequently  be  found  a  slight 
depression  at  the  external  angle  of  the  eye,  betwixt  the  zygomatic 
process  and  the  organ  in  question,  especially  when  the  muscles  are 
thin.  In  such  cases,  it  has  sometimes  appeared  as  high  up  as 
Tune  generally  occurs.  This  slight  variation  from  uniform  situation 
occurs  in  the  distribution  of  all  the  parts  of  the  body;  but  the 
anatomist  is  not,  on  this  account,  embarrassed  in  his  operations  ;, 
for  the  aberration  never  exceeds  certain  limits,  and  he  acquires, 
by  experience,  the  tact  of  recognising  the  part  by  its  general 
appearance. 

It  has  been  objected,  that  the  elevation  or  depression  of  this  part 
of  the  brain  depends  upon  the  force  with  which  the  temporal  mus- 
cles, which  lie  over  it,  have  acted  in  the  individual  ;  and  it  is  said 
that  carnivorous  animals  which  masticate  bones,  and  in  consequence 
possess  those  muscles  in  a  very  powerful  degree,  have  narrow 
heads,  and  little  brain  in  tlw  region  of  this  organ. 

The  answer  to  this  is  fourfold  ;  1st,  Carnivorous  animals  do  not 
build,  and  the  organ  in  question  is  wanting  in  them.  The  organ 
being  absent,  their  heads  are  narrow  of  course  ;  but  all  this  is  in 
exact  accordance  with  Phrenology.  2dly,  In  the  beaver,  which 
cuts  timber  with  its  teeth,  and  in  which  the  temporal  muscles  act 
with  great  energy,  the  organ  is  large,  and  the  head  is  broad  ;  which 
also  harmonizes  with   our   doctrine,   and   contradicts  that  of  the 


CONSTRUCTIVENESS.  205 

objectors.  3dly,  In  the  human  race,  the  size  of  the  head,  at  the 
region  in  question,  which  indicates  the  size  of  the  organ,  does  not 
bear  a  proportion  to  the  force  with  which  mastication  is  performed  ; 
for  some  individuals,  who  Hve  chiefly  on  slops,  and  chew  little,  have 
narrow  heads,  and  weak  constructive  talents,  while  others,  who  eat 
hard  viands,  have  broad  heads,  and  manifest  great  mechanical  skill ; 
and,  4thly,  The  actual  size  of  the  head  in  this  quarter,  from  what- 
ever cause  it  arises,  bears  a  regular  proportion  to  the  actual  endow- 
ment of  constructive  genius. 

The  temporal  muscle  differs  in  thickness  in  different  persons, 
and  the  phrenologist  ought  to  desire  the  individual  observed,  to 
move  the  lower  jaw,  and,  while  he  does  so,  to  feel  the  muscle, 
and  allow  for  its  size.  The  uncertainty  in  regard  to  the  dimensions 
of  the  temporal  muscle,  renders  it  unsafe  to  predicate  the  size  of 
the  organs  of  Constructiveness  and  Acquisitiveness  from  casts  of 
the  head,  unless  information  as  to  the  thickness  of  the  fleshy  fibres 
is  communicated.  This  organ,  therefore,  is  best  estabhshed,  by 
examining  hving  heads,  or  skulls,  or  casts  of  skulls. 

When  Dr.  Gall  first  turned  his  attention  to  the  talent  for  con- 
struction, manifested  by  some  individuals,  he  had  not  discovered 
the  fact,  that  every  primitive  faculty  is  connected  with  a  particular 
part  of  the  brain  as  its  organ  ;  and,  on  this  account,  he  directed  his 
observations  towards  the  whole  head  of  great  mechanicians.  He 
v/as  frequently  struck  with  the  circumstance,  that  the  heads  of  such 
artists  were  as  large  in  the  temporal  region  as  at  the  cheek  bones. 
This,  however,  although  occurring  frequently,  was  not  a  certain 
and  infalhble  characteristic  ;  and  hence  he  was  led  by  degrees  to 
beUeve,  that  the  talent  depended  on  a  particular  power.  To  dis- 
cover a  particular  indication  of  it  in  the  head,  he  sought  acquaint- 
ance with  men  of  distinguished  mechanical  genius,  wherever  he 
found  them,  studied  the  forms  of  their  heads,  and  moulded  them. 
He  soon  met  some  in  whom  the  diameter  from  temple  to  temple 
was  greater  than  that  from  the  one  zygomatic  bone  to  the  other;  and 
at  last  found  two  celebrated  mechanicians,  in  whom  there  appeared 
two  swellings,  round  and  distinct  at  the  temples.  These  heads 
convinced  him,  that  it  is  not  the  circumstance  of  equality  in  the 


206  CONSTRUCTIVENESS. 

zygomatic  and  temporal  diameters,  which  indicates  a  genius  for 
mechanical  construction,  but  a  round  protuberance  in  the  temporal 
region,  situated  in  some  individuals  a  little  behind,  in  others  a  httle 
behind  and  above  the  eye.  This  developement  is  always  found  in 
concomitance  with  great  constructive  talent,  and  when  the  zygomatic 
diameter  is  equal  to  it,  then  there  is  a  parallelism  of  the  face  ;  but, 
as  the  zygomatic  bone  is  not  connected  with  the  organ,  and  projects 
more  or  less  in  different  individuals,  this  form  of  countenance  is 
not  invariably  the  concomitant  of  constructive  talent,  and  ought  not 
to  be  taken  as  the  measure  of  the  developement  of  the  organ. 

Having  thus  obtained  some  idea  of  the  seat  and  external  appear- 
ance of  the  organ,  Dr.  Gall  assiduously  multiplied  observations. 
At  Vienna,  some  gentlemen  of  distinction  brought  to  him  a  person, 
concerning  whose  talents  they  solicited  his  opinion.  He  stated 
that  he  ought  to  have  a  great  tendency  towards  mechanics.  The 
gentlemen  imagined  that  he  was  mistaken,  but  the  subject  of  the 
experiment  was  gready  struck  with  this  observation  :  He  was  the 
famous  painter  Unterbergen.  To  show  that  Dr.  Gall  had  judged 
with  perfect  accuracy,  he  declared  that  he  had  always  had  a  passion 
for  the  mechanical  arts,  and  that  he  painted  only  for  a  livelihood. 
He  carried  the  party  to  his  house,  where  he  showed  them  a  multi- 
tude of  machines  and  instruments,  some  of  which  he  had  invented, 
and  others  improved.  Besides,  Dr.  Gall  remarks  that  the  talent 
for  design  so  essential  to  a  painter,  is  connected  with  the  organ  of 
Constructiveness,  so  that  the  art  which  he  practised  publicly  was  a 
manifestation  of  the  faculty. 

Dr.  Scheel  of  Copenhagen  had  attended  a  course  of  Dr.  Gall's 
lectures  at  Vienna,  from  which  city  he  went  to  Rome.  One  day 
he  entered  abruptly,  when  Dr.  Gall  was  surrounded  by  his  pupils, 
and  presenting  to  him  the  cast  of  a  skull,  asked  his  opinion  of  it. 
Dr.  Gall  instantly  said,  that  he  "  had  never  seen  the  organ  of 
Constructiveness  so  largely  developed  as  in  the  head  -.1  question." 
Scheel  continued  his  interrogatories.  Dr.  Gall  then  pointed  out 
also  a  large  developement  of  the  organs  of  Amativeness  and  Imita- 
tion. "  How  do  you  find  the  organ  of  Coloring?  "-^"I  had  not 
previously  adverted  to  it,"  said  Gall,    "for  it  is  only  moderately 


CONSTRUCTIVENESS. 


207 


developed."  Scheel  replied,  with  much  satisfaction,  "  that  it  was 
a  cast  of  the  skull  of  Raphael."  Every  reader,  acquainted  with 
the  history  of  this  celebrated  genius,  will  perceive  that  Dr.  Gall's 
indications  were  exceedingly  characteristic.  Casts  of  this  skull 
may  be  seen  in  the  Phrenological  Society's  collection,  and  also  in 
De  Ville's  in  London,  and  O'Neill's  in  Edinburgh,  and  the  organs 
mentioned  as  large  will  be  found  very  conspicuously  indicated. 
That  of  Constructiveness  in  particular-  presents  the  round  elevated 
appearance  above  described,  as  the  surest  indication  of  its  presence 
in  a  high  degree.  An  admirable  Essay  by  Mr.  Scott  on  the  genius 
of  Raphael,  compared  with  the  cerebral  developement  indicated 
by  this  skull,  will  be  found  in  the  Phrenological  Journal,  vol.  ii. 
p.  327. 


; 


Raphael. 


Constructiveness  large. 


mr 


Constructiveness  small. 


Th€se  figures  represent  a  side  view  and  front  view  of  the  skulls  of  Raphael 
and  a  New  Hollander.  In  the  front  view,  the  coronal  region  of  the  New 
Hollander  conies  into  the  figure,  and  gives  the  forehead  an  appearance  of 
size  and  perpendicularity  greater  than  nature.  But  at  the  organ  of  Con- 
structiveness, immediately  behind  and  above  the  external  angle  of  the  eye, 
the  front  view  represents  the  real  dimensions  in  both  skulls.  In  the  New 
Hollander,  the  skull  at  Constructiveness  falls  greatly  within  the  line  of  the 
cheek-bones  ;  while  in  Raphael,  the  skull  swells  out  at, that  organ. 

Sir  Walter  Scott  gives  the  following  description  of  the  New 
Hollanders.  "  The  natives  of  New  Holland  are  even  at  present  in 
the  very  lowest  scale  of  humanity,  and  ignorant  of  every  art  which 


208  CONSTRUCTIVENESS. 

can  add  comfort  or  decency  to  human  life.  These  unfortunate 
savages  use  no  clothes,  construct  no  cabins  or  huts,  and  are 
ignorant  even  of  the  manner  of  chasing  animals,  or  catching  fish, 
unless  such  of  the  latter  as  are  left  by  the  tide,  or  which  are  found 
on  the  rocks." 

Several  of  Dr.  Gall's  auditors  spoke  to  him  of  a  man  who  was 
gifted  with  an  extraordinaiy  talent  for  mechanics;  he  described  to 
them  beforehand  what  form  of  a  head  he  ought  to  have,  and  they 
went  to  visit  him:  it  was  the  ingenious  mathematical  instrument- 
maker  Lindner,  at  Vienna;  and  his  temples  rose  out  in  two  little 
rounded  irregular  prominences.  Dr.  Gall  had  previously  found 
the  same  form  of  head  in  the  celebrated  mechanician  and  astron- 
omer David,  Frere  Augustin,  and  in  the  famous  Voigtlaender, 
mathematical  instrument-maker.  At  Paris,  Prince  Schwartzen- 
berg,  then  Minister  of  Austria,  wished  to  put  Drs.  Gall  and 
Spurzheim  to  the  test.  When  they  rose  from  table,  he  conducted 
Dr.  Gall  into  an  adjoining  apartment,  and  showed  him  a  young 
man  :  without  speaking  a  word,  he  and  the  Prince  rejoined  the 
company,  and  he  requested  Dr.  Spurzheim  to  go  and  examine 
the  young  man's  head.  During'  his  absence.  Dr.  Gall  told  the 
company  what  he  thought  of  the  youth.  Dr.  Spurzheim  imme- 
diately returned,  and  said,  that  he  believed  him  to  be  a  great 
mechanician,  or  an  eminent  artist  in  some  constructive  branch. 
The  Prince,  in  fact,  had  brought  him  to  Paris  on  account  of  his 
great  mechanical  talents,  and  supphed  him  with  the  means  of  fol- 
lowing out  his  studies. 

Dr.  Gall  adds,  that  at  Vienna,  and  in  the  whole  course  of 
his  travels,  he  had  found  this  organ  developed  in  mechanicians, 
architects,  designers,  and  sculptors,  in  proportion  to  their  talent. 

He  mentions,  that,  at  Mulhausen,  the  manufacturers  do  not 
receive  into  their  employment  any  children,  except  those  who, 
from  an  eai'ly  age,  have  displayed  a  talent  for  the  arts  in  drawing 
or  clipping  figures,  because  they  know,  from  experience,  that  such 
subjects  ajone  become  expert  and  intelligent  workmen. 

Dr.  Spurzheim  mentions  the  case  of  a  milliner  of  Vienna,  who 
was  remarkable  for  constructive  talent  in  her  art,  and  in  whom  the 


CONSTRUCTIVENESS.  209 

organ  is  large.  A  cast  of  her  skull  is  in  the  Phrenological  Soci- 
ety's collection,  and  it  presents  an  appearance,  in  this  paiticular 
part,  resembling  Raphael's. 

When  Dr.  Spurzheim  was  in  Edinburgh,  in  1817,  he  visited 
the  work-shop  of  Mr.  James  Milne,  brass-founder,  a  gentleman 
who  himself  displays  no  small  inventive  genius  in  his  trade,  and 
in  whom  Construe tivenes  is  lai'gely  developed,  and  examined  the 
heads  of  his  apprentices.  The  following  is  Mr.  Milne's  account 
of  what  took  place  upon  the  occasion  : 

"  On  the  first  boy  presented  to  Dr.  Spurzheim,  on  his  entering 
the  shop,  he  observed,  that  he  would  excel  in  any  thing  he  was  put 
to.  In  this  he  was  perfectly  correct,  as  he  was  one  of  the  cleverest 
boys  I  ever  had.  On  proceeding  farther.  Dr.  Spurzheim  remark- 
ed of  another  boy,  that  he  would  make  a  good  workman,.  In  this 
instance,  also,  his  observation  was  well  founded.  An  elder  brother 
of  his  was  working  next  him,  who,  he  said,  would  also  turn  out  a 
good  workman,  but  not  equal  to  the  other.  I  mentioned,  that,  in 
point  of  fact,  the  former  was  the  best,  although  both  were  good. 
In  the  course  of  farther  observations.  Dr.  Spurzheim  remarked  of 
others,  that  they  ought  to  be  ordinary  tradesmen,  and  they  were 
so.  At  last  he  pointed  out  one,  who,  he  said,  ought  to  be  of  a 
different  cast,  and  of  whom  I  would  never  be  able  to  make  any 
thing  as  a  workman,  and  this  turned  out  to  be  too  correct ;  for  the 
boy  served  an  apprenticeship  of  seven  years,  and,  when  done,  he 
was  not  able  to  do  one-third  of  the  work  performed  by  other  indi- 
viduals, to  whose  instruction  no  greater  attention  had  been  paid. 
So  much  was  I  struck  with  Dr.  Spurzheim's  observations,  and  so 
correct  have  I  found  the  indications  presented  by  the  organization 
to  be,  that  when  workmen,  or  boys  to  serve  as  apprentices,  apply 
to  me,  I  at  once  give  the  preference  to  those  possessing  a  large 
Constructiveness;  and  if  the  deficiency  is  very  great,  I  would  be 
disposed  to  decline  receiving  them,  being  convinced  of  their 
inability  to  succeed." 

The    organ   of  this  faculty  is  very  largely   developed  in    Mr., 
Brunei,  the  celebrated  inventor  of  machinery  for  making  blocks  for 
the  rigging  of  ships,  by  means  of  steam;  and  who  has,  besides, 
27 


210  CONSTRUCTIVENESS. 

shown  a  great  talent  for  mechanics  in  numerous  departments  of 
art.  It  is  large  in  Edwards,  an  eminent  engraver;  in  Willde, 
Haydon,  and  J.  F.  Williams,  celebrated  painters;  in  Sir  W. 
Herschel,  whose  great  discoveries  in  astronomy  arose  from  the 
excellence  of  his  telescopes,  made  by  his  own  hands ;  and  in  Mr. 
Samuel  Joseph,  an  eminent  sculptor.  Masks  of  all  these  individ- 
uals are  to  be  seen  in  the  Phrenological  Society's  collection.  In 
the  late  Sir  Henry  Raeburn,  who  was  bred  a  goldsmith,  but 
became  a  painter  by  the  mere  impulse  of  nature,  without  teaching, 
and  without  opportunities  of  study,  I  observed  it  large.  It  is 
large,  also,  in  Mr.  Scoular,  a  very  promising  young  sculptor,  w^ho 
displayed  this  talent  at  a  very  early  ag«.  I  have  noticed  it  large  in 
all  the  eminent  operative  surgeons  of  Edinburgh,  in  distinguished 
engravers,  and  also  in  the  most  celebrated  cabinet-makers,  who 
have  displayed  invention  in  their  art.  It  and  Form  are  large  in 
children  who  are  fond  of  clipping  and  drawing  figures.  It  is  large 
in  tailors  who  excel  in  their  art. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  possess  a  cast  of  the  head  of  a  very  inge- 
nious friend,  distinguished  for  his  talents  as  an  author,  who  has 
often  complained  of  so  great  a  want  of  constructive  ability,  that 
he  found  it  difficult  even  to  learn  to  write ;  and,  in  his  head, 
although  large  in  other  dimensions,  there  is  a  conspicuous  defi- 
ciency in  the  region  of  Constructiveness.  Among  the  negative 
instances  fall  to  be  ranked  the  casts  and  skulls  of  the  New  Hol- 
landers, in  the  Phrenological  Society's  collection,  which  ai-e  all 
remarkably  narrow  in  the  situation  of  this  organ  ;  and  their  low 
condition  in  the  constructive  arts  has  been  already  mentioned. 
Contrasted  with  them,  are  the  Italians  and  French.  An  accurate 
and  mteUigent  phrenologist  authorises  me  to  state,  that,  during  his 
travels  in  Italy,  he  observed  a  full  developement  of  Constructive- 
ness to  be  a  general  feature  in  the  Italian  head;  and  the  same 
holds,  but  in  a  less  degree,  in  the  French.  Both  of  these  nations 
possess  this  organ  in  a  higher  degree  than  the  English.  Individ- 
uals, among  the  latter,  are  greatly  gifted  with  it,  and  the  nation  in 
general  possesses  high  intellectual  organs,  so  that  great  discoveries 
in  art  are  made  in  this  country  by  particular  persons,  and  speedily 


CONSTRUCTIVENESS.  211 

adopted  and  carried  forward  by  those  whom  they  benefit;  but  the 
natural  taste  for  works  of  ait  and  the  enjoyment  derived  from  them, 
are  here  less  in  degree,  and  less  general,  than  in  France,  and 
especially  than  in  Italy.  The  organ  is  well  developed  in  many  of 
the  Esquimaux  who  show  considerable  constructive  talent.  It  is 
large  in  most  of  the  ancient  Greeks.  The  busts  also  of  eminent 
artists  of  former  ages  display  a  great  developement  of  this  organ; 
in  particular,  in  the  bust  of  Michael  Angelo,  in  the  church  of  Santa 
Croce  at  Florence,  the  breadth  from  temple  to  temple  is  enor- 
mous. The  reflecting  organs,  situated  in  the  forehead,  and  like- 
wise Ideality,  in  him  are  very  large;  and  these  add  understanding 
and  taste  to  the  instinctive  talent  for  works  of  art,  conferred  by 
Constructiveness. 

These  are  positive  facts  in  regard  to  this  organ.  I  shall  notice 
a  few  circumstances,  illustrative  of  the  existence  of  a  talent  for 
construction,  as  a  distinct  power  of  the  mind  apart  from  the 
general  faculties  of  the  understanding,  from  which  the  reader  may 
form  an  opinion  of  the  extent  to  which  the  phrenological  views 
agree  or  disagree  with  the  common  phenomena  of  human  nature. 
This  is  the  more  necessary,  as  metaphysical  philosophers  in  general 
do  not  admit  a  primitive  faculty  of  Constructiveness,  and  hold 
mechanical  arts  to  be  the  result  entirely  of  reflection. 

Among  the  lower  animals,  it  is  clear  that  the  ability  to  construct 
is  not  in  proportion  to  the  endowment  of  understanding.  The 
dog,  horse,  and  elephant,  which  in  sagacity  approach  very  closely 
to  the  more  imperfect  specimens  of  the  human  race,  never,  in  any 
circumstances,  attempt  a  work  of  art.  The  bee,  the  beaver,  the 
swallow,  on  the  contrary,  with  far  less  general  intellect,  rival  the 
productions  of  man.  Turning  our  attention  to  man,  we  observe, 
that  while,  among  children  of  the  same  family,  or  the  same  school, 
some  are  fond  of  a  variety  of  amusements  unconnected  with  art, 
others  constantly  devote  themselves,  at  their  leisure  hours,  to 
designing  with  chalk  various  objects  on  the  boards  of  books, 
walls,  and  paper,  or  occupy  themselves  with  fashioning  in  wax  or 
clay,  or  chpping  in  paper,  the  figures  of  animals,  trees,  or  men. 
Children  of  a  very  tender  age  have  sometimes  made  models  of  a 


21!2  CONSTRUCTIVENESS. 

ship  of  war,  which  the  greatest  philosopher  would  in  vain  strive  to 
imitate.  The  young  Vaucanson  had  only  seen  a  clock  through  the 
window  of  its  case,  when  he  constructed  one  in  wood,  with  no 
other  utensils  than  a  bad  knife.  A  gentleman  with  whom  I  was 
intimately  acquainted,  invented  and  constructed,  at  six  years  of 
age,  a  mill  for  making  pot-barley,  and  actually  set  it  in  opera- 
tion by  a  small  jet  from  the  main  stream  of  the  Water  of  Leith. 
Lebrun  drew  designs  with  chalk  at  three  years  of  age,  and  at 
twelve  he  made  a  portrait  of  his  grandfather.  Sir  Christopher 
Wren,  at  thirteen,  constructed  an  ingenious  machine  for  repre- 
senting the  course  of  the  planets.  Michael  Angelo,  at  sixteen, 
executed  works  which  were  compai'ed  with  those  of  antiquity.* 

The  greater  number  of  eminent  artists  have  received  no  educa- 
tion capable  of  accounting  for  their  talents;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
have  frequently  been  compelled  to  struggle  against  the  greatest 
obstacles,  and  to  endure  the  most  distressing  privations,  in  fol- 
lowing out  their  natural  inclinations.  Other  individuals,  again, 
educated  for  the  arts,  on  whom  every  advantage  has  been  lavished, 
when  destitute  of  genius,  have  never  surpassed  mediocrity.  Fre- 
quently, too,  men,  whom  external  circumstances  have  prevented 
from  devoting  themselves  to  occupations  to  which  they  were 
naturally  inclined,  have  occupied  themselves  with  mechanics  as  a 
pastime  and  amusement.  An  eminent  advocate  at  the  Scottish 
bar,  in  whom  Constructiveness  is  largely  developed,  informed  me, 
that  occasionally,  in  the  very  act  of  composing  a  written  pleading 
on  the  most  abstruse  questions  of  law,  vivid  conceptions  of  par- 
ticular pieces  of  mechanism,  or  of  new  applications  of  some 
mechanical  principle,  dart  into  his  mind,  and  keep  their  place 
so  as  to  interrupt  the  current  of  his  voluntary  thoughts,  until  he 
has  embodied  them  in  a  diagram  or  description,  after  which  he  is 
able  to  dismiss  them  and  proceed  with  his  professional  duties. 
Leopold  I.,  Peter  the  Great,  and  Louis  XYL  constructed  locks. 
The  organs  of  Constructiveness  were  largely  developed  in  the  late 
Lord  President  Blair  of  the  Court  of  Session,  as  appears  from  a 
cast  of  his  head,  his  statue,  and  also  from  his  portraits:  and  it  is 

*  Gall  sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau,  tome  v. 


CONSTRUCTIVENESS  213 

said,  that  he  had  a  private  workshop  at  Avondale,  in  Linlithgow- 
shire, in  which  he  spent  many  hours  during  the  vacations  of  the 
Court,  constructing  pieces  of  mechanism  with  his  own  hands.  The 
predilection  of  such  individuals  for  the  practice  of  mechanical  arts 
cannot  reasonably  be  ascribed  to  want,  or  to  their  great  intellectual 
faculties  :  for  innumerable  objects,  more  directly  fitted  to  gratify 
or  relieve  the  understanding,  must  have  presented  themselves  to 
their  notice,  had  they  not  been  led  by  a  special  liking  to  the  course 
they  followed,  and  felt  themselves  inspired  by  a  particular  talent 
for  such  avocations.  Not  only  so,  but  examples  of  an  opposite 
description  are  met  with  ;  namely,  of  men  of  great  depth  and  com- 
prehensiveness of  intellect,  who  are  wholly  destitute  of  manual 
dexterity.  Lucien  and  Socrates  renounced  sculpture,  because 
they  felt  that  they  possessed  no  genius  for  it.  M.  Schurer, 
formerly  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  at  Strasburg,  broke 
every  article  he  touched.  There  are  persons  who  can  never  learn 
to  make  a  pen  or  sharp  a  razor  ;  and  Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that  two 
of  his  friends,  the  one  an  excellent  teacher,  the  other  "grand  min- 
istre,"  were  passionately  fond  of  gardening,  but  he  could  never 
teach  them  to  engraft  a  tree.  As  a  contrast  to  these,  men  of 
considerable  mechanical  dexterity  are  frequently  found  to  be  re- 
markably destitute  of  talent  for  every  other  pursuit,  and  to  possess 
very  limited  understandings. 

Cases  of  disease  also  tend  to  prove  that  Constructiveness  de- 
pends on  a  special  faculty,  and  is  not  the  result  merely  of  general 
intellect.  Dr.  Rush  mentions  two  cases  in  which  a  talent  for 
design  had  unfolded  itself  during  a  fit  of  insanity ;  and  he  adds, 
that  there  is  no  insane  hospital  in  which  examples  are  not  found 
of  individuals,  who,  although,  previously  to  their  loss  of  understand- 
ing, they  never  showed  the  least  trace  of  mechanical  talent,  have 
subsequently  constructed  the  most  curious  machines,  and  even 
ships  completely  equipped.  These  cases  are  at  utter  variance 
with  the  notion  that  the  intellectual  faculties  produce  this  talent ; 
for  in  them  they  were  deranged,  while  they  accord  with  the  phren- 
ological doctrine  of  this  power  depending  on  a  separate  faculty 
and  organ,  which  may  remain  sound  wlien  the  others  are  diseased. 


214  CONSTRUCTIVENESS. 

t 

Fodere,  in  his  Traite  du  Goitre  et  de  la  Cretinisme,  p.  133, 
remarks,  "  That,  by  an  inexplicable  singularity,  some  of  these 
individuals  (Cretins,)  endowed  with  so  weak  minds,  are  born  with 
a  particular  talent  for  copying  paintings,  for  rhyming,  or  for  music. 
I  have  known  several  who  taught  themselves  to  play  passably  on 
the  organ  and  harpsichord  ;  others  who  understood,  without  ever 
having  had  a  master,  the  repairing  of  watches,  and  the  construction 
of  some  pieces  of  mechanism."  He  adds,  that  these  powers  could 
not  be  attributed  to  the  intellect,  for  these  individuals  not  only 
could  not  read  books,  which  treated  of  the  principles  of  mechanics, 
"rnais  ils  etaient  deroutes  lorsqu'on  en  parlait,  et  ne  se  perfection- 
naient  jamais.'''' 

In  the  lower  animals,  nature  has  implanted  a  propensity  to 
construct,  but  in  them  it  is  always  specific  ;  while  in  man  a  similar 
tendency  is  found,  but  general  in  its  apphcation.  For  example, 
nature  inspires  the  beaver  not  only  with  a  desire  to  build,  but  also 
with  an  instinctive  and  unerring  impulse,  independent  of  acquired 
knowledge  and  experience,  to  construct  a  dweUing  of  a  particular 
form  ;  and  the  power  of  the  animal  to  build  is  confined  entirely 
within  the  limited  sphere  of  its  intuitive  inspiration.  Man,  on  the 
other  hand,  has  received  also  from  nature  a  propensity  to  construct, 
but  not  a  limited  and  intuitive  instinct  to  build  a  house  or  a  ship, 
or  to  weave  a  coat  or  a  vest,  or,  in  short,  to  fashion  anj  particular 
object.  The  beaver  possesses  no  general  reflecting  powers  to 
direct  its  propensity,  and  hence  it  was  necessary  to  inspire  it  not 
only  with  a  desire  to  build,  but  with  a  plan  of  architecture.  To 
man,  on  the  contrary,  reflection  is  given  ;  and  the  faculties  of  the 
understanding  enable  him  to  invent  plans,  and  to  employ  his  impulse 
to  construct,  in  a  great  variety  of  ways. 

Constructiveness,  then,  confers  only  the  power  of  constructing 
in  general,  and  the  results  which  it  is  capable  of  producing  are 
influenced  by  other  faculties.  For  example,  intellect  alone,  with 
extreme  deficiency  of  Constructiveness,  will  never  enable  an  indi- 
vidual to  become  an  expert  mechanician  ;  but,  if  the  developement 
of  Constructiveness  be  equal  in  two  individuals,  and  the  intellectual 
organs  be  large  in  the  one  and  small  in  the  other,  the  former  will 


CONSTRUCTIVENESS.  215 

accomplish  much  higher  designs  than  the  latter  :  and  the  reason  is 
obvious.  The  primitive  talent  for  construction  is  the  same  in 
both ;  but  the  one,  by  means  of  reflection,  is  endowed  with  the 
perception  of  the  relation  of  means  to  an  end,  and  hence  is  able  to 
select,  from  the  wide  circle  of  nature  and  of  art,  every  object  and 
appliance  that  may  extend  and  elevate  his  conceptions  and  aid  their 
execution^;  while  the  latter  is  limited  to  a  mere  mechanical  talent, 
never  stretching  beyond  imitation  of  objects  previously  existing. 

Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that  it  is  difficult  to  discover  the  position  of 
this  organ  in  some  of  the  lower  animals,  on  account  of  the  different 
disposition  of  the  convolutions,  their  small  size,  and  the  total 
absence  of  several  of  those  which  are  found  in  man.  The  organ 
of  Music  in  the  lower  creatures  is  situated  towards  the  middle  of 
the  arch  of  the  eyebrow,  and  that  of  Constructiveness  lies  a  little 
behind  it.  In  the  hamster,  marmot,  and  castor,  of  which  he  gives 
plates,  it  is  easily  recognised;  and  at  the  part  in  question,  the 
skulls  of  these  animals  bear  a  close  resemblance  to  each  other. 
In  the  "  rongeurs,"  the  organ  will  be  found  immediately  above 
and  before  the  base  of  the  zygomatic  arch,  and  the  greater  the 
talent  for  construction,  the  more  this  region  of  their  head  is  pro- 
jecting. The  rabbit  burrows  under  ground,  and  the  hare  lies  upon 
the  surface,  and  yet  their  external  members  are  the  same.  On 
comparing  their  skulls,  this  region  will  be  found  more  developed 
in  the  rabbit  than  in  the  hare.  The  same  difference  is  perceptible 
between  the  crania  of  birds  which  build  nests,  and  of  those  which 
do  not  build.  Indeed  the  best  way  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  appearance  of  the  organ  in  the  lower  animals,  is  to  compare 
the  heads  of  animals  of  the  same  species  which  build,  with  those 
which  do  not  manifest  this  instinct  ;  the  hare,  for  example,  with 
the  rabbit,  or  birds  which  make  nests  with  those  which  do  not. 

The  organ  is  established. 


216  SELF-ESTEEM. 

Genus  II.— SENTIMENTS. 

This  genus  of  faculties  corresponds  to  the  "  emotions  "  of  the 
metaphysicians.  The  feelings  which  they  produce,  are  not  the 
immediate  consequences  of  the  presence  of  external  objects,  but 
are  excited,  only  indirectly,  through  the  medium  of  intellectual 
perceptions  or  sensations.  They  differ  from  intellectual  percep- 
tions, in  being  accompanied  with  a  peculiar  vividness,  which  every 
one  understands,  but  which  it  is  impossible  to  express  by  any 
verbal  definition.*  They  may  exist,  also,  with  great  intensity,  by 
the  internal  activity  of  the  organs.  Dr.  Spurzheim  has  named 
these  faculties  Sentiments,  because  they  produce  a  propensity  to 
act,  joined  with  an  emotion  or  feeling  of  a  certain  kind.  Several 
of  them  are  common  to  man  and  the  lower  animals  ;  others  are 
peculiar  to  man.  The  former  shall  be  first  treated  of,  and  they 
are  styled  the  Inferior  or  Lower  Sentiments. 

1.  Sentiments  common  to  Man  and  the  lower  Animals. 
10. SELF-ESTEEM. 

This  organ  is  situated  at  the  vertex  or  top  of  the  head,  a  little 
above  the  posterior  or  sagittal  angle  of  the  parietal  bones.  When 
large,  the  head  rises  far  upward  and  backward  from  the  ear,  in  the 
direction  of  it,  see  figures,  p.  218. 

Dr.  Gall  gives  the  following  account  of  the  discovery  of  the 
organ.  A  beggar  attracted  his  attention  by  his  extraordinary  man- 
ners. He  reflected  on  the  causes  which,  independently  of  an 
absolutely  vicious  conformation  or  of  misfortunes,  could  reduce  a 
man  to  mendicity,  and  believed  that  he  had  found  one  of  the  chief 
of  them  in  levity  and  want  of  foresight.  The  form  of  the  head  of 
the  beggar  in  question  confirmed  him  in  this  opinion.  He  was 
young,  and  of  an  agreeable  exterior,  and  the  organ  of  Cautiousness 
was  very  little  developed.  Dr.  Gall  moulded  his  head,  and,  on 
examining  it  with  attention,  remarked,  in  the  upper  and  back  part 
*  Lectures  by  Dr.  Thomas  Brown.     Lecture  52. 


SELF-ESTEEM.  217 

of  the  middle  line,  a  prominence  extending  from  above  down- 
wards, which  could  arise  only  from  developement  of  the  cerebral 
parts  there  situated.  He  had  not  previously  observed  this  promi- 
nence in  other  heads  ;  and,  on  this  account,  he  was  very  anxious  to 
discover  what  it  indicated.  His  head,  moreover,  was  small,  and 
announced  neither  strong  feelings  nor  much  intellect.  After  many 
questions  addressed  to  the  beggar,  with  a  view  to  discover  the 
remarkable  traits  of  his  character,  he  requested  him  to  relate  his 
history.  The  beggar  said,  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  rich  merchant, 
from  whom  he  had  inherited  a  considerable  fortune  ;  that  he  had 
always  been  so  proud  as  not  to  be  able  to  condescend  to  labor,  either 
for  the  preservation  of  his  paternal  fortune,  or  to  acquire  a  new  one; 
and  that  this  unhappy  pride  was  the  only  cause  of  his  misery.  This, 
says  Dr.  Gall,  "called  to  my  recollection  those  persons  who  for- 
bear to  cut  their  nails,  with  the  view  of  supporting  the  idea  that  they 
never  require  to  work."  He  made  several  farther  observations  to 
the  beggar,  and  showed  liim  that  he  doubted  his  veracity ;  but  he 
always  reverted  to  his  pride,  and  seriously  stated,  that  even  now 
he  could  not  resolve  to  follow  any  kind  of  labor.  Although  it  was 
difficult  to  conceive  how  pride  should  cause  a  man  to  prefer 
begging  to  working,  yet  Dr.  Gall  was  led,  by  this  person's  reiterated 
assurances,  to  reflect  upon  the  sentiment,  and  to  observe  the  organ, 
and  he  found,  at  length,  incontrovertible  proofs  of  their  connexion. 

He  mentions  a  variety  of  cases  in  illustration,  of  which  I  select 
only  the  following  : 

A  young  man,  endowed  with  faculties  above  mediocrity,  had 
manifested,  from  his  infancy,  insupportable  pride.  He  constantly 
maintained  that  he  was  of  too  good  a  family  to  work  or  apply  him- 
self to  any  thing.  Nothing  could  free  him  from  this  absurdity^  he 
was  even  put,  for  eighteen  months,  into  a  house  of  correction  at 
Hainar.  A  physician  of  Vienna,  an  otherwise  amiable  man,  carried 
the  feeling  of  pride  to  such  a  point,  that  every  time  when  called 
to  a  consultation,  even  with  practitioners  older  than  himself,  or 
with  public  professors,  he  regularly  took  the  precedence,  both  in 
entering  and  coming  out  of  the  apartment.  When  any  document 
was  to  be  subscribed,  he  insistei  on  adhibiting  his  signature  first. 
28 


218 


SELF-ESTEEM. 


He  had  connected  himself  with  the  director  of  the  Great  Hospital, 
but  solely,  as  he  himself  told  afterwards,  for  the  purpose  of  sup- 
planting him.  At  Heidelberg,  Dr.  G.  saw  a  girl  of  eighteen,  of  a 
remarkable  character.  Every  word  or  gesture  in  the  least  familiar 
revolted  her.  She  called  on  God  on  every  occasion,  as  if  he  took 
a  special  interest  in  her  affairs.  When  she  spoke,  assurance  and 
presumption  were  painted  in  her  features  ;  she  carried  her  head 
high  and  a  litde  backwai'ds,  and  all  the  movements  of  her  head 
expressed  pride.  She  was  not  capable  of  submission  ;  when  in  a 
passion,  she  was  violent  and  disposed  to  proceed  to  all  extremities. 
Although  only  the  daughter  of  a  quill-merchant,  she  spoke  her 
native  language  with  extraordinary  purity,  and  communicated  only 
with  persons  of  a  rank  superior  to  her  own.  In  all  these  individ 
uals,  the  organ  of  Self-Esteem  was  very  largely  developed.  Dr. 
Gall  mentions,  that  he  had  examined  also  the  heads  of  a  number 
of  Chiefs  of  Brigands,  remarkable  for  this  quality  of  mind,  and 
that  he  had  found  the  organ  largely  developed  in  them  all.     The 


Francois  Cordonniek. 


Self-Esteem  moderate. 


Self-Esteem  large. 


The  faculty  inspires  with  the  sentiment  of  Self-Esteem  or  Self- 
love,  and  a  due  endowment  of  it,  like  that  of  all  other  faculties, 
produces  only  excellent  effects.  It  imparts  that  degree  of  satis- 
faction with  self,  which  leaves  the  mind  open  to  the  enjoyment 
of  the  bounties  of  Providence  and  the  amenities  of  life;  and 
inspires  it  with  tliat  degree  of  confidence,  which  enables  it  to 
apply  its  powers  to  the  best  advantage  in  every  situation  in  which 
it  is  placed.  It  aids  also  in  giving  dignity  in  the  eyes  of  others; 
and  we  shall   find    in  society,    that   that   individual   is   uniformly 


p 


SELF-ESTEEM.  219 

treated  with  the  most  lasting  and  sincere  respect,  who  esteems 
himself  so  highly  as  to  contemn  every  action  that  is  mean  or 
unworthy  of  an  exalted  mind.  By  communicating  this  feeling  of 
self-respect,  it  frequently  and  effectually  aids  the  moral  sentiments 
in  resisting  temptations  to  vice.  Several  individuals  in  whom  the 
organ  is  large,  have  stated  to  me  that  they  have  been  restrained 
from  forming  improper  connexions,  by  the  overwhelming  sense  of 
self- degradation  excited  in  their  minds  by  the  mere  prospect  of 
such  a  circumstance;  and  that  they  believed  their  better  principles 
might  have  yielded  to  temptation,  had  it  not  been  for  the  support 
afforded  to  them  by  the  instinctive  impulses  of  Self-Esteem.  An 
individual  is  predisposed  to  humility,  when  the  organ  is  too  small. 
In  such  a  case,  want  of  confidence,  and  of  a  due  sense  of  his 
own  importance,  is  felt.  He  has  no  reliance  upon  himself;  if 
the  public  or  his  superiors  frown,  he  is  unable  to  pursue  even  a 
virtuous  course,  thi'ough  diffidence  of  his  own  judgment.  Infe- 
rior talents,  combined  with  a  strong  endowment  of  Self-Esteem, 
are  often  crowned  with  far  higher  success,  than  more  splendid 
abilities  joined  with  this  sentiment  in  a  feebler  degree.  Dr.  Adam 
Smith,  in  his  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments,  remai'ks,  that  it  is 
better,  upon  the  whole,  for  an  individual  to  have  too  much,  than  too 
little,  of  this  feeling;  because,  if  we  pretend  to  more  than  we  ai^e 
entitled  to,  the  world  will  give  us  credit  for  at  least  what  we  pos- 
sess; whereas,  if  we  pretend  to  less,  we  shall  be  taken  at  our  word, 
and  mankind  will  rai-ely  have  the  justice  to  raise  us  to  the  true  level. 
It  is  only  when  possessed  in  an  inordinate  degree,  and  indulged 
without  restraint  from  higher  faculties,  that  it  produces  abuses.  In 
children,  it  then  shov,"s  itself  in  pettishness,  and  a  wilful  temper. 
Those  children  in  whom  the  organ  is  small,  are  generally  obedi- 
ent, and  easily  directed  according  to  the  will  of  others.  In  "later 
life,  a  great  developement  of  the  organ,  with  deficiency  of  other 
powers,  produces  arrogance,  superciliousness  of  deportment,  and 
selfisbiess.  The  first  thought  of  persons  so  endowed  is,  how  the 
thing  proposed  will  affect  themselves;  they  see  the  world  and  all 
its  interests  only  through  the  medium  of  self.  I  have  seen  indi- 
viduals mistake  the  impulses  of  it  for  the  inspiration  of  genius,  and 


220  SELF-ESTEEM. 

Utter  common-place  observations  with  a  solemnity  and  emphasis 
suitable  only  to  concentrated  wisdom.  The  musician,  under  its 
predominating  influence,  is  sometimes  led  to  embellish  a  tune  with 
decorations  of  his  own  inventing,  till  its  character  is  changed,  and 
the  melody  destroyed.  In  short,  when  the  organ  is  inordinately 
large,  it  communicates  to  the  individual  a  high  sentiment  of  his 
own  importance,  and  leads  him  to  believe,  that  whatever  he  does 
or  says  is  admirable,  just  because  it  proceeds  from  him.  It  inspires 
him  with  magnificent  notions  of  his  own  respectability,  and  prompts 
him,  on  comparing  himself  with  others,  to  depreciate  them,  in 
order  to  raise  himself  in  the  scale  of  comparative  excellence.  It 
is  a  chief  element  in  the  disposition  to  eensoriousness  and  envy. 
Persons  who  are  fond  of  discussing  the  characters  of  others,  and 
feel  the  tendency  to  vituperate  rather  than  to  praise  them,  will  be 
found  to  have  this  organ  large.  It  is  the  comparison  with  self,  and 
a  secret  satisfaction  at  fancied  superiority,  that  gives  pleasure  in 
this  practice.  Envy  is  the  result  of  Self-Esteem  and  Love  of 
Approbation,  offended  by  the  excellences  of  others,  and  calling  up 
'  Destructiveness  to  hate  them.  To  make  way  for  this  effect,  how- 
ever. Benevolence  and  Conscientiousness  must  be  deficient. 

When  Self-Esteem  predominates,  it  gives  an  intense  feeling  of 
egotism  ;  and  the  individual  in  his  discourse,  is  then  prone  to  use 
the  emphatic  /:  "  /did  this,  /said  the  other  thing."  The  faculty 
then  gives  a  solemn  gravity  to  the  manners,  an  authoritative  com- 
manding tone  to  the  voice,  and  a  kind  of  oracular  turn  to  the  mind, 
which  frequently  shows  itself  in  the  most  ludicrous  manner.  Cob- 
bett's  whole  life  and  writings  indicate  an  excessively  active  Self- 
Esteem,  aided  by  Combativeness  ;  and  he  has  maintained,  at  dif- 
ferent times,  every  variety  of  opinion  that  could  enter  the  human 
imagination,  and  upon  every  point  of  his  changeful  creed  he  has 
dogmatized  with  more  than  oracular  infallibility.  Madame  de  Stael 
describes  most  graphically  another  illustrious  example  of  the  effects 
of  an  inordinate  Self-Esteem,  even  on  a  powerful  mind.  Speaking 
of  one  of  the  herdi|^  of  the  Revolution,  she  says  that  he  possessed 
considerable  talents,^^' mais  au  lieu  de  travailler  il  s''etonnoit  de  lui 
meme.'^     Some  individuals  manifest  a  solemn  good-natured  patron- 


n 


SELF-ESTEEM.  221 

izing  tendency  towards  others,  indicated  in  discourse  by  epithets 
such  as  "my  good  sir,"  "  my  good  fellow,"  and  the  like.  This 
arises  from  Self-Esteem  and  Benevolence  both  ?arge. 

Another  effect  of  a  predominating  Self-Esteem,  is  to  render  the 
individual  extremely  well  satisfied  with  whatever  belongs  to  himself 
An  eminent  phrenologist  sailed  as  a  passenger  from  the  Clyde  to 
a  foreign  port,  in  a  vessel  commanded  by  a  person  in  whose  head 
this  organ  was  very  largely  developed,  and  saw  many  striking  man- 
ifestations of  it  on  the  voyage.  The  captain  said,  that  he  thought 
nothing  of  the  vessel  when  he  first  saw  her,  but  after  commanding 
her  for  awhile,  he  thought  her  the  first  ship  belonging  to  the  Clyde. 
This  was  evidently  because  she  had  become  his  vessel.  On  his 
voyage,  he  assumed  the  most  dictatorial  airs  ;  told  the  passengers 
he  would  send  them  before  the  mast,  that  he  was  sole  commander 
here,  and  that  all  must  obey ;  spoke  habitually  of  himself,  and 
seemed  to  have  an  insatiable  appetite  for  power.  He  possessed 
little  reflection,  and  was  deficient  in  Conscientiousness. 

Under  the  influence  of  this  faculty,  some  authors  appear,  in  their 
compositions,  to  fall  instinctively  and  unconsciously  into  excessive 
use  of  pronouns  of  the  first  person.  The  following  example  is 
taken  from  the  works  of  an  esteemed  philosopher  :  "  When  /first 
ventured  to  appear  before  the  public  as  an  author,  /  resolved  that 
nothing  should  ever  induce  me  to  enter  into  any  controversy  in 
defence  of  my  conclusions,  but  to  leave  them  to  stand  or  to  fall  by 
their  own  evidence.  From  the  plan  of  inductive  investigation 
which  /  was  conscious  of  having  steadily  followed,  as  far  as  /  was 
able,  /  knew  that  whatever  mistakes  might  be  detected  in  the 
execution  of  my  design,  no  such  fatal  consequences  were  to  be 
dreaded  to  my  general  undertaking,  as  might  have  been  justly 
apprehended,  had  /  presented  to  the  world  a  connected  system, 
founded  on  gratuitous  hypothesis,  or  on  arbitrary  definitions. 
The  detections,  on  the  contrary,  of  my  occasional  errors,  would, 
/  flattered  myself,  from  the  invariable  consistency  and  harmony  of 
truth,  throw  new  lights  on  those  inquiries  which  /  had  conducted 
with  greater  success  ;  as  the  correction  of  a  trifling  mistatement 
in  an  authentic  history  is  often  found,  by  completing  an  imperfect 


222  SELF-ESTEEM. 

link,  or  reconciling  a  seeming  contradiction,  to  dispel  the  doubts 
which  hung  over  the  more  faithful  and  accurate  details  of  the 
narrative. 

"  In  this  hope  /  was  fortified  by  the  following  sentence  of  Lord 
Bacon,  which  /  thought  /  might  apply  to  myself.)  without  incmi-ing 
the  charge  of  presumption:  '  Nos  autem,  si  qua  in  re  vel  male 
credidimus,  vel  obdormivimus  et  minus  attendimus  vel  defecimus 
in  via  at  inquisitionem  abrupimus,  nihilo  minus  us  modis  res 
NUNDAS  ET  APERTAs  EXHiBEMUs,  ut  crrores  nostri  notari  et 
separari  possint;  atque  etiam,  ut  facilis  et  expedita  sit  laborum 
nostrorum  continuatio.' 

"  As  this  indifference,  however,  about  the  fate  of  my  partic- 
ular doctrines,  arose  from  a  deep  rooted  conviction,  both  of  the 
importance  of  my  subject,  and  of  the  soundness  of  my  plan,  it  was 
impossible  for  me  to  be  insensible  to  such  criticisms  as  were  di- 
rected against  either  of  these  two  fundamental  assumptions.  Some 
criticisms  of  this  description  /  had,  from  the  first,  anticipated;  and 
/  would  not  have  failed  to  obviate  them  in  the  introduction  to  my 
former  work,  if  /  had  not  been  afraid  to  expose  myself  to  the 
imputation  of  prolixity,  by  conjuring  up  objections  for  the  purpose 
of  refuting  them,"  &c. 

Another  amusing  instance  of  a  similar  style  of  writing  will  be 
found  in  an  account  of  himself  by  "  Flechier  Eveque  de  Nismes," 
prefixed  to  an  edition  of  his  "  Oraisons  Funebres,"  printed  at 
Paris  in  1802.  I  infer  this  to  arise  from  a  great  endowment  of 
Self-Esteem.  A  portrait  of  the  author  last  named  is  prefixed  to 
his  work,  in  which  a  strong  expression  of  Self-Esteem  appears 
depicted  on  liis  countenance.  The  portraits  of  Gibbon  also  indi- 
cate this  expression  in  a  remarkable  degree. 

One  form  in  which  abuses  of  this  faculty  appear  in  ordinary 
society,  is  contempt  for  our  fellow  men.  Mechanics  look  down 
with  contempt  on  male  domestic  servants;  wholesale  merchants 
regai'd  retail  dealers  as  an  inferior  caste ;  an  uneducated  artisan 
speaks  with  contempt  of  doctors ;  lawj^ers  despise  traders ;  and 
the  nobility  speak  of  professional  people,  and  the  industrious  classes 
in  general  as  persons  of  an  inferior  grade. — This  is  the  effect  of 


SELF-ESTEEM.  223 

Self-Esteem  in  its  unenlightened  condition.  Real  superiority  is  con- 
stituted by  a  fine  endowment  of  the  bodily  and  mental  organs,  highly 
cultivated;  but  persons  thus  gifted  are  the  least  prone  to  regard 
any  of  God's  creatures  with  disdain.  By  pointing  out  these  ten- 
dencies of  the  faculty,  those  in  whom  the  organ  is  large  will  be  put 
upon  their  guard  to  avoid  such  ludicrous  modes  of  its  manifestation. 

The  feeling  of  individual  personality  has  been  supposed  by  some 
phrenologists  to  arise  from  this  faculty;  and  they  have  been  led  to 
this  conjecture,  by  the  undoubted  fact,  that  the  prominence  which 
the  first  person  assumes  in  the  mind,  bears  a  proportion  to  the  size 
of  the  organ  of  Self-Esteem. 

Self-Esteem  is  an  ingredient  in  the  love  of  uniques.  The  high 
value  attached  by  some  persons  to  objects  which  no  other  person 
can  possess,  seems  resolvable  to  a  great  extent  into  gratification 
of  this  feehng.  In  possessing  the  article  they  enjoy  a  superiority 
over  the  whole  world,  and  the  consciousness  of  this  confers  a  high 
value  on  it  in  their  estimation. 

This  faculty  is  one  element  in  the  love  of  dominion  and  power- 
It  is  large  in  the  busts  of  Augustus  Caesar  and  of  Bonaparte ;  and 
I  have  observed  that  those  individuals  who,  in  private  life,  aspire 
most  eagerly  to  office,  and  who  are  most  delighted  witli  the 
possession  of  a  little  brief  authority,  generally  have  a  large  Self- 
Esteem.  From  the  same  cause,  viz.  that  this  faculty  produces 
the  love  of  power,  it  happens  that  those  who  are  most  violent  in 
their  opposition  to  persons  in  authority,  generally  possess  the  same 
organ  also  fully  developed.  In  short,  when  two  individuals  equal- 
ly thirst  for  dominion,  and  when  the  one  can  rule  only  by  the  other 
obeying,  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  the  subject  will,  in  such  a  case, 
manifest  Mttle  satisfaction  under  the  yoke,  and  that  his  very  .love 
of  authority  will  make  him  the  most  determined  opponent  of  it  in 
others. 

Nations  differ  with  regard  to  the  degree  in  which  they  possess 
this  organ.  It  is  large  in  the  Hindoos,  and  the  English  have  more 
of  it  than  the  French;  hence  the  manner  of  a  genuine  Frenchman 
appears  to  an  Englishman  to  be  fawning  and  undignified;  while  the 
manner  of  an  Englishman  appears  to  the  French  cold,  haughty. 


a24  SELF-ESTEEM. 

and  supercilious.  The  great  Self-Esteem  of  the  English,  and 
their  consequent  instinctive  aversion  to  all  stretches  of  power,  are 
probably  causes  of  their  pohtical  liberty.  Dr.  Adam  Ferguson  has 
recognised  the  operation  of  this  sentiment  in  maintaining  their  free- 
dom. Alluding  to  the  habeas  corpus  act,  he  remarks,  "that  it 
requires  a  fabric  no  less  than  the  whole  pohtical  constitution  of 
Great  Britain,  a  spirit  no  less  than  the  refractory  and  turbulent 
zeal  of  this  fortunate  people,  to. secure  its  effects."* 

Self-Esteem,  when  eminently  powerful,  and  not  combined  with 
the  higher  sentiments  equally  strong,  causes  the  individual  to  carry 
his  head  high  and  reclining  backwards.  It  gives  a  cold  and  repul- 
sive expression  to  the  manners,  and  it  is  in  an  especial  degree 
offensive  to  other  individuals  largely  endowed  with  the  same 
faculty. 

Dr.  Reid  and  Mr.  Stewart  treat  of  this  sentiment  under  the 
designation  of  the  Desire  of  Power.  Dr.  Thomas  Brown  calls  it 
"pride,"  and  defines  it  as  "  That  feehng  of  vivid  pleasure  which 
attends  the  consciousness  of  our  excellence."  f  Dr.  Brown  views 
the  desire  of  power  as  a  separate  principle;  but  the  sentiment  is 
the  same  as.  the  one  which  we  name  Self-Esteem  ;  and  the  latter 
appears  to  me  to  be  the  primitive  emotion,  which  is  felt  and  mani- 
fested as  the  fundamental  function  of  the  organ;  whereas,  the  desire 
of  power  is  a  direction  of  the  faculty  in  a  particular  way,  resulting 
from  a  combination  with  Love  of  Approbation,  and  depending  on 
external  situation.  It  is  quite  conceivable,  that  a  private  individual, 
removed  from  all  means  of  acquiring  authority  in  public,  may  be 
very  proud,  and  manifest  httle  of  the  appetite  for  dominion,  except 
over  those  of  his  household;  but  I  do  not  conceive,  that  any  one 
could  be  found  fired  with  an  insatiable  ambition  for  situations  of 
command,  in  whom  Self-Esteem  is  defective,  or  even  moderate 
in  size  ;  so  that  there  appears  no  adequate  ground  for  assuming 
pride  as  one  primitive  sentiment,  and  the  love  of  power  as  another 
and  distinct  original  desire. 

In  treating  of  Acquisitiveness,  I  mentioned,  that  the  practical 
effects  of  that  faculty  were  much  modified  by  the  endowment  of 

*  History  of  Civil  Society,  part  iii.  sect.  6.  t  Vol.  iii.  p.  300, 


SELF-ESTEEM.  225 

Self-Esteem,  with  which  it  happened  to  be  combined, — selfishness 
being  greatly  increased  by  the  combination  of  both  in  a  full  degree 
of  developement.  Mr.  Stewart  approaches  close  to  the  same 
doctrine,  when  he  observes,  that  "the  idea  of  power  is,  partly 
at  least,  the  foundation  of  our  attachment  to  property."*  A  phren- 
ologist, on  analyzing  the  combination,  would  infer,  that  Acquisi- 
tiveness desires  to  acquire  wealth,  and  Self-Esteem  to  hold  and 
apply  it  to  selfish  gratification. 

This  organ  appears  to  be  possessed  by  the  lower  animals.  The 
turkey-cock,  peacock,  horse,  &c.  manifest  feelings  resembhng 
pride  or  Self-Esteem. 

Dr.  Gall,  however,  entertained  views  on  this  subject  peculiar 
to  himself.  He  mentions,  that,  after  having  studied  the  sentiment 
of  pride  as  a  primitive  mental  quahty,  and  its  organ  in  the  human 
race,  he  wished  to  ascertain  whether  his  observations  would  be 
confirmed  by  the  lower  animals.  He,  therefore,  examined  the 
heads  of  such  of  them  as  we  are  accustomed  to  call  proud, — the 
race-horse,  the  cock  and  peacock.  He  did  not  find  in  any  of 
these  a  remarkable  developement  of  the  cerebral  parts,  corres- 
ponding to  the  organ  of  Self-Esteem  in  man  ;  but  he  found  a 
considerable  developement  of  these  parts  in  animals  in  which  he 
would  never  have  thought  of  looking  for  it,  that  is  to  say,  in 
those  wliich  voluntarily  remain  in  the  higher  regions  of  the  air, 
living  on  mountains,  and  other  elevated  situations  ;  for  example,  in 
the  roebuck,  the  chamois,  the  wild  goat,  and  certain  species  of 
eagles  and  falcons;  and  what  struck  him  most  was,  that  the  parts 
in  question  were  the  more  developed,  in  proportion  to  the  greater 
height  of  the  dwelling-places  of  the  animals.  Dr.  Gall  himself 
was  astonished  at  this  observation.  That  a  predilection  for  phy- 
sical heights,  should,  in  animals,  depend  on  the  same  organ  as 
that  to  which  the  sentiment  of  Self-Esteem  is  referrible  in  man, 
appeared  to  him,  at  first,  altogether  improbable  and  inadmissible  ; 
yet,  says  he,  "I  have  laid  down  the  rule  to  communicate  the 
progress  of  my  observations,  as  well  as  the  manner  in  which  they 
have  given  rise  to  my  opinions.     Opinions  which  have  not  facts 

*  Outlines,  p.  92. 
29 


226  SELF-ESTEEM. 

for  their  basis,  if  not  erroneous,  are  at  least  very  likely  to  be  so  ; 
and  a  natural  historian  ought  to  be  less  ashamed  of  committing  an 
error  in  his  interpretations  of  facts,  than  of  founding  his  opinions 
on  reasoning  alone."  He  accordingly  enters  into  some  inter- 
esting observations  on  the  various  dwelling-places  of  animals  ; 
directing  the  attention  of  his  readers  both  to  those  which  inhabit 
elevated  regions,  and  to  others  which  prefer  the  lowest  situations  ; 
and  states,  that,  in  all  animals  which  have  their  abodes  in  high 
places,  there  is  a  lengthened  eminence  in  the  middle  line  of  the 
head,  immediately  above  the  organ  of  Philoprogenitiveness,  and 
which  entirely  resembles  the  organ  of  Self-Esteem  in  man.* 

Dr.  Spurzheim  holds,  that  this  prominence  in  the  brains  of  the 
lower  animals  corresponds  to  the  organ  No.  III.  in  man,  (named 
by  him  Inhabitiveness,  and,  in  this  work,-  Concentrativeness  ;) 
and,  while  he  admits  the  accuracy  of  the  facts  stated  by  Dr.  Gall, 
he  differs  from  his  conclusions,  and  says,  that  it  is  not  the  same 
organ  which  produces  in  man  the  sentiment  of  Self-Esteem,  and, 
in  the  lower  creatures,  the  love  of  physical  heights;  but  that  there 
are  distinct  organs  both  in  man  and  the  lower  animals  for  these 
separate  mental  qualities.  It  appears  to  me,  that  Dr.  Spurzheim 
is  correct  in  maintaining,  that  the  organ  No.  III.  is  distinct  from 
that  of  Self-Esteem,  both  in  the  lower  animals  and  in  man;  and  the 
real  extent  of  the  difference  betwixt  him  and  Dr.  Gall  is  this, — 
Dr.  Spurzheim  admits  two  organs  lying  betwixt  Firmness  and 
Philoprogenitiveness,  but  Dr.  Gall  only  one  :  Dr.  Gall  considers 
the  whole  of  the  intermediate  cerebral  parts  as  the  organ  in  man 
of  Self-Esteem,  and,  in  animals,  of  the  love  of  physical  height: 
while  Dr.  Spurzheim  regards  the  upper  portion  of  these  parts  as 
the  organ  of  Self-Esteem,  and  the  lower  portion  as  the  organ 
of  Inhabitiveness  in  both  cases.  I  am  satisfied  that  the  organs 
are  distinct  in  the  human  species,  and  that  the  upper  serves  to 
manifest  Self-Esteem.  Farther  observations  must  determine  the 
functions  of  the  lower  organ,  or  No.  III. 

When  the  organ  becomes  excited  by  disease,  the  individual 
imagines  himself  to  be  a  king,  an  emperor,  a  transcendent  genius, 
*  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau,  tome  iv.  p.  279. 


SELF-ESTEEM.  227 

or  even  the  Supreme  Being.  Dr.  Gall  mentions  the  case  of 
a  Monsieur  B.,  in  whom  the  organ  was  naturally  verj  lai-ge,  and 
who  was  accidentally  wounded  by  a  nail  in  this  part  of  the  brain. 
While  laboring  under  the  influence  of  the  wound,  he  felt  him- 
self as  it  were  elevated  above  the  clouds,  and  carried  through  the 
air,  retaining,  at  the  same  time,  and  also  manifesting,  during  his 
convalescence,  the  same  proud  and  haughty  manners  which  had 
distinguished  him  during  health. 

"The  organ  was  equally  conspicuous  in  an  insane  patient  at 
Baden,  near  Rastadt.  This  man's  insanity  consisted  in  beheving 
himself  a  Major.  He  had  a  small  head,  and  the  only  organ  which 
was  developed  in  a  high  degree  was  that  of  Self-Esteem  ;  the 
whole  other  convolutions  of  the  brain  being  very  small.  In  the 
charity  work-house  of  Fribourg,  we  saw  an  insane  man  who  was 
extremely  proud.  He  declared,  in  a  vehement  and  pathetic  tone, 
'qu'il  est  la  souche'  by  the  aid  of  which  God  created  and 
preserves  the  world ;  that  he  has  been  crowned  by  Jesus  Christ ; 
that  he  is  the  young  man  whom  the  Queen  of  Heaven  has 
selected  for  her  spouse.  His  attitude  is  that  of  an  arrogant 
despot.  Deeply  inspired  with  sentiments  of  his  high  impor- 
tance, he  crosses  his  arms,  and  to  give  an  idea  of  the  astonishing 
power  which  he  possesses,  he  strikes  his  breast  and  sides  with 
violence.  In  general,  he  stands  with  one  foot  placed  before  the 
other,  the  body  erect,  and  a  little  inclined  backwards.  When  I 
requested  him,"  says  Dr.  Gall,  "to  allow  me  to  touch  his  head, 
he  repHed  with  astonishing  arrogance,  '  Ich  habe  keinen  Kopf^ 
sondern  ein  Haupt^'  I  have  no  head  such  as  common  men  possess, 
but  a  Haupt  or  head  peculiar  to  Kings  and  Gods.  He  turned 
away,  holding  us  to  be  totally  unworthy  of  approaching  him.  -  We 
observed,  however,  very  distinctly,  that  he  had  the  organ  of  Self- 
Esteem  very  largely  developed." 

Pinel,  Fodere,  and  other  authors  on  Insanity,  mention  cases 
equally  characteristic  of  disease  of  this  organ.  "  A  patient,"  says 
Pinel,  "confined  in  a  private  asylum  in  Paris,  during  his  fits, 
beheved  himself  to  be  the  Prophet  Mahomet,  assumed  an  attitude 
of  command,  and  the  tone  of  the  Most  High;  '  ses  traits   etaient 


228  LOVE  OF  APPROBATION. 

rayonnans,  et  sa  demarche  pleine  de  majeste.'  One  day  when 
cannon  were  fired  in  Pai'is  on  account  of  some  events  of  the 
Revolution,  he  persuaded  himself  that  it  was  to  render  him 
homage;  he  caused  silence  to  be  observed  ai'ound  him,  and  could 
not  restrain  his  joy."  "  A  woman,"  continues  the  same  author, 
"  extremely  imperious,  and  accustomed  to  make  her  husband  obey 
with  even  more  than  docility,  remained  in  bed  part  of  the  morning, 
and  then  insisted  that  he  should  come,  and  on  his  knees  present 
her  with  drink.  She  ended,  by  believing  herself,  in  the  ecstasies 
of  her  pride,  to  be  the  Virgin  Mary."  In  the  Richmond  Lunatic 
Asylum  in  Dublin,  I  saw  several  cases  similar  to  the  foregoing,  and 
which  are  reported  in  the  Phrenological  Journal,  vol.  vi. 

This  organ  is  generally  larger  in  men  than  in  women ;  and  more 
males  are  insane  through  pride  than  females. 

The  organ  is  large  in  Haggart  and  Dempsey,  and  moderate  in 
Dr.  Hette.     It  is  regarded  as  established. 


11.— LOVE    OF    APFROBATIOM. 

This  organ  is  situated  on  each  side  of  that  of  Self-Esteem,  and 
commences  about  half  an  inch  from  the  lambdoidal  suture.  When 
large,  it  produces  a  remarkable  fulness  and  breadth  in  the  upper 
and  back  part  of  the  head.  From  its  situation,  it  cannot  be 
brought  into  line,  so  as  to  be  represented  successfully  by  figures, 
similar  to  those  used  in  illustration  of  the  other  organs. 

When  Dr.  Gall  was  occupied  in  making  observations  on  the 
organ  of  Self-Esteem,  he  met  with  a  woman  in  a  lunatic  asylum 
who  conceived  herself  to  be  the  Q,ueen  of  France.  He  expected 
to  find  the  organ  of  that  sentiment  largely  developed  ;  but,  in  place 
of  this  being  the  case,  there  was  a  very  distinct  hollow  in  the 
situation  of  it,  and  a  round  and  considerable  prominence  presented 
itself  on  each  side.  This  circumstance  at  first  caused  him  con- 
siderable embarrassment.  He  soon  perceived,  however,  that  the 
character  of  this  woman's  insanity  differed  materially  from  that  of 
men  alienated  through  pride.  The  latter  were  serious,  calm,  impe- 
rious, elevated,  arrogant ;  and  they  affected  a  masculine  majesty 


LOVE  OF  APPROBATION.  229 

Even  in  the  fury  of  their  fits,  all  their  motions  and  expressions 
bore  the  impress  of  the  sentiment  of  domination,  which  they 
imagined  themselves  to  exercise  over  others.  In  those  insane 
through  vanity,  on  the  other  hand,  the  whole  manner  was  different. 
There  was  then  a  restless  frivolity,  an  inexhaustible  talkativeness, 
the  most  affected  forwardness  ;  eagerness  to  announce  high  birth 
and  inexhaustible  riches,  promises  of  favor  and  honor, — in  a  word, 
a  mixture  of  affectation  and  absurdity.  From  that  time  Dr.  Gall 
perceived  the  difference  between  the  sentiment  of  Self-Esteem 
and  that  of  Love  of  Approbation. 

He  draws,  with  great  accuracy,  the  distinction  between  pride, 
which  is  an  abuse  of  Self-Esteem,  and  vanity,  proceeding  from 
abuse  of  Love  of  Approbation.  The  proud  man,  says  he,  is 
imbued  with  a  sentiment  of  his  own  superior  merit,  and,  from  the 
summit  of  his  grandeur,  treats  with  contempt  or  indifference  all 
other  mortals.  The  vain  man  attaches  the  utmost  importance  to 
the  opinions  entertained  of  him  by  others,  and  seeks  with  eagerness 
to  gain  their  approbation.  The  proud  man  expects  that  mankind 
will  come  to  him  and  acknowledge  his  merit.  The  vain  man 
knocks  at  every  door  to  draw  attention  towards  him,  and  supplicates 
for  the  smallest  portion  of  honor.  The  proud  man  despises  those 
marks  of  distinction,  which  on  the  vain  confer  the  most  perfect 
delight.  The  proud  man  is  disgusted  by  indiscreet  eulogiums. 
The  vain  man  inhales  with  ecstasy  the  incense  of  fiattery,  although 
profusely  offered,  and  by  no  very  skilful  hand.* 

Dr.  Gall  treats  of  the  abuses  of  this  sentiment,  under  the  names 
of  Vanity,  Ambition,  and  the  Love  of  Glory,  rather  than  of  the 
primitive  sentiment  itself.  To  Dr.  Spurzheim  is  due  the  merit  of 
elucidating  the  ultimate  principle  of  many  of  the  faculties,  and  in 
particular  the  one  under  consideration. 

This  faculty  produces  the  desire  to  please,  whence  arises  the 
love  of  praise  and  fame.  It  makes  us  attentive  to  the  opinions 
which  others  entertain  of  us.  The  object  of  its  desire  is  approba- 
tion in  general,  without  determining  the  means  or  the  manner  of 
acquiring  it. 

■"  Gall  sur  Ics  Fonctions  du  Cerveaii,  tome  iv.  p.  29G 


230  LOVE  OF  APPROBATION. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  regard  to  the  degree  of  endow- 
ment of  this  faculty,  in  different  individuals.  Some  watch,  with 
the  most  animated  anxiety,  every  motion,  and  every  look,  and 
intuitively  feel  when  we  approve  or  disapprove.  When  we  ap- 
prove, the  eye  sparkles,  the  countenance  opens,  and  the  individual 
approaches  us  with  a  pleasing  courtesy,  expressive  at  once  of  the 
pleasure  he  has  received  from  our  approbation,  and  of  his  desire 
to  retain  it.  He,  on  the  other  hand,  in  whom  the  faculty  is  natu- 
rally feeble,  shows,  by  the  undisturbed  fixture  of  his  countenance, 
that  our  censure  and  applause  are  alike  unimportant  to  him.  When 
we  censure,  he  stares  us  in  the  face,  with  indifference,  or  gapes  in 
stupid  wonder. 

A  due  endowment  of  this  faculty  is  indispensable  to  an  amiable 
character.  It  gives  the  desire  to  be  agreeable  to  others, — it  is  the 
drill-sergeant  of  society,  and  admonishes  us  when  we  deviate  too 
widely  from  the  line  of  march  of  our  fellows, — it  induces  us  to 
suppress  numberless  little  manifestations  of  selfishness,  and  to 
restrain  many  peculiarities  of  temper  and  disposition,  from  the 
dread  of  giving  offence,  and  thereby  incurring  disapprobation  ; — it 
is  the  butt  upon  which  wit  strikes,  when,  by  means  of  ridicule,  it 
drives  us  from  our  follies.  To  be  laughed  at  is  worse  than  death 
to  a  person  in  whom  this  sentiment  is  strong. 

The  direction  in  which  gratification  of  it  will  be  sought,  will 
depend  on  the  faculties  with  which  it  is  combined  in  the  individual. 
If  the  moral  sentiments  and  intellect  be  vigorous,  it  will  prompt  to 
moral  emulation  and  the  desire  of  honorable  fame.  It  animates  the 
poet,  the  painter,  the  orator,  the  warrior,  and  the  statesman.  In 
some  individuals  it  attains  the  height  of  a  passion,  and  then  gloiy 
is  pursued  at  the  hazard  of  life  and  of  every  enjoyment  which 
it  affords,  and  fame  is  sought  for  even  in  the  cannon's  mouth. 
"  Themistoclem  ilium,"  says  Cicero,  "  summum  Athenis  virum, 
dixisse  aiunt,  cum  ex  eo  qusereretur,  quod  acroama,  aut  cujus 
vocem  libentissime  audiret  ?  Ejus,  a  quo  sua  virtus  optime  praedi- 
caretur."  Cicero  himself  seems  to  have  possessed  this  sentiment 
Jn  a  very  high  degree  :  "  Trahimur  ornnes  laudis  studio,"  says  he, 
"  et  optimus  quisque  maxime  gloria  ducitur.     Ipsi  illi  philosophi, 


LOVE  OF  APPROBATION.  231 

etiam  in  illis  libellis  quos  de  contemnenda  gloria  scribunt,  nomen 
suum  inscribunt ;  in  eo  ipso,  in  quo  prsedicationera  nobilitatemque 
despiciunt,  prgedicari  de  se  ac  norainari  volunt."*  If  the  lower 
propensiiies  predominate,  the  individual  may  be  pleased,  by  the 
reputation  of  being  the  best  fighter,  or  the  greatest  drinker  of  his 
circle. 

The  feeling  which  is  most  commonly  experienced,  when  this 
organ  is  large,  even  when  favorably  combined  with  other  organs,  is 
anxiety  about  what  the  world  will  think  of  us.  A  youth  in  whom 
it  is  powerful  cannot  do  this  thing,  because  every  body  will  look  at 
him  ;  or  cannot  do  the  other,  because  the  people  would  wonder. 
In  older  persons,  it  produces  a  fidgety  anxiety  about  the  opinions 
of  the  public,  or  of  the  circle  of  acquaintances  who  compose  the 
public  to  them.  They  imagine  themselves  continually  before  the 
public  eye,  and  that  the  world  is  occupied  with  little  else  than 
weighing  their  motives,  speculating  on  their  conduct,  and  adjusting 
the  precise  point  in  the  scale  of  importance  and  respectability  at 
which  they  ought  to  be  placed.  A  great  portion  of  this  feeling, 
however,  is  the  mere  inspiration  of  a  very  active  and  powerful  Love 
of  Approbation  in  their  own  heads.  The  public  are  too  much  en- 
grossed with  themselves  and  their  own  aflfairs,  to  bestow  so  minute 
and  permanent  a  degree  of  attention  upon  an  individual.  This 
anxiety  about  public  opinion,  when  excessive,  is  subversive  of 
happiness  and  independence.  It  renders  the  mere  dicta  of  the 
society  in  which  the  individual  moves  his  code  of  morality,  rehgion, 
taste,  and  philosophy;  and  incapacitates  him  from  upholding  truth 
or  virtue,  if  disowned  by  those  whom  he  imagines  influential  or 
genteel.  The  want  of  a  philosophy  of  mind,  allows  wide  scope  to 
the  aberrations  of  this  faculty,  for  in  the  absence  of  well  defined 
principles  of  taste  and  conduct,  individuals  of  high  pretension  die- 
late  with  greater  facility  fashions  however  absurd,  which  the  herd 
of  mankind  follow. 

The  distinguishing  characteristic  betwixt  the  disposition  to  oblige, 
conferred  by  this  sentiment,  and  the  feeling  of  genuine  kind- 
ness, v/hich  springs  from  Benevolence,  is,  that  Love  of  Approba- 
*  Oratio  pro  Archia. 


232  LOVE  OF  APPROBATION. 

tion  prompts  us  to  do  most  for  those  who  least  require  our  aid ; 
Whereas  Benevolence  takes  exactly  the  opposite  direction.  Men, 
in  general,  care  little  for  the  approbation  of  their  inferiors,  their  own 
household,  or  those  of  whom  they  are  altogether  independent ; 
and  he  whose  exertions  are  inspired  chiefly  by  this  faculty,  will  do 
extremely  little  to  benefit  them.  To  serve  or  please  the  great  or 
the  splendid,  on  the  other  hand,  or  strangers  whose  voice  may  raise 
or  depress  his  fame,  he  will  make  the  most  animated  exertions. 
Persons,  accordingly,  in  whom  Love  of  Approbation  is  very  strong, 
and  Benevolence  and  Conscientiousness  deficient,  are  frequently  the 
most  agreeable  acquaintances  to  those  who  are  altogether  indepen- 
dent of  them,  "they  smile  on  all  who  care  not  for  their  frowns," 
while  they  neglect  or  torment  their  inferiors  and  equals. 

The  abuses  of  this  faculty  may  be  traced  in  all  ages,  and  in  every 
variety  of  form.  Combined  with  Secretiveness  large,  it  prompts 
its  possessor  to  pay  to  other  individuals  those  unmeaning  compli- 
ments which  pass  current  in  society,  and  which  most  persons 
receive  well,  when  addressed  to  themselves,  but  treat  with  ridicule 
when  bestowed  lavishly  on  others.  It  prompts  to  the  equivocation 
of  "  not  at  home,"  when  the  person  is  otherwise  engaged.  The 
faculty  of  Conscientiousness  would  desire  that  the  plain  fact  should 
be  stated  ;  but  Love  of  Approbation  produces  an  instinctive  feeling 
that  the  Self-Esteem  of  the  person  calling  will  be  offended  at  the 
idea  that  any  engagement  could  render  it  inconvenient  to  see  him. 
To  save  this  pang.  Love  of  Approbation  and  Secretiveness  prompt 
to  the  invention  of  the  little  equivoque.  This  deceit  is  seen  through 
by  all,  and  nevertheless  the  use  of  it  is  more  pleasing  to  persons  in 
whom  Self-Esteem  and  Love  of  Approbation  are  very  large,  than 
the  announcement  of  the  simple  truth.  Some  individuals  state 
candidly  that  they  are  "engaged;"  and  I  have  asked  persens  in 
whom  the  above  organs  are  large,  whether  they  felt  more  annoyed 
by  this  reply,  than  by  "  not  at  home,"  even  when  they  suspected 
that  the  latter  meant  really  the  former.  They  acknowledged,  that, 
for  the  first  time,  they  did  feel  slightly  irritated  by  the  idea  that 
their  friend  was  in  the  house  and  would  not  see  them  ;  but  that  a 
moment's  reflection  satisfied  them,  that  forcible  reasons  must  exist 


LOVE  OF  APPROBATION.  233 

for  the  refusal,  and  that  the  very  announcement  of  the  truth  was  an 
appeal  to  their  higher  feelings,  and  a  proof  of  unhesitating  confi- 
dence in  their  attachment  and  good  sense  ;  and  ever  after  they  were 
not  offended  by  the  reply  "  engaged."  It  is  the  same  combination 
of  Love  of  Approbation  with  Secretiveness,  which  prompts  some 
individuals  to  the  practice  of  calling  on  those  whom  they  are  pleased 
to  style  their  friends,  when  they  are  sure  they  are  not  at  home,  for 
the  purpose  of  leaving  their  card.  This  proceeding  is  an  offer  of 
flattery  to  the  Self-Esteem  and  Love  of  Approbation  of  the  persons 
called  upon  ;  but  as  it  argues  an  absence  of  real  affection  and 
esteem  for  them,  it  is,  in  truth,  an  insult ;  and,  besides,  it  neces- 
sarily implies  so  great  a  deficiency  of  Conscientiousness  in  the 
individuals  who  practise  it,  that  they  are  not  to  be  relied  on  in 
circumstances  in  which  real  friendship  will  be  put  to  the  test. 

When  the  developement  of  Love  of  Approbation  is  excessive, 
while  the  regulating  organs  are  deficient,  it  is  the  cause  of  great 
unhappiaess.  It  renders  the  Httle  girl  at  school  miserable,  if  her 
dress  and  the  style  of  living  of  her  parents  be  not  equal  to  those 
of  the  parents  of  her  associates.  It  overwhelms  the  artist,  author, 
or  public  speaker,  with  misery,  if  a  rival  is  praised  in  the  journals 
in  higher  terms  than  himself.  A  lady  is  tormented  at  perceiving, 
in  the  possession  of  her  acquaintance,  finer  dresses  or  equipages 
than  her  own.  It  excites  the  individual  to  talk  of  himself,  his 
affairs,  and  connexions,  so  as  to  communicate  to  the  auditor  vast 
ideas  of  his  greatness  or  goodness :  in  short,  vanity  is  one  form 
of  its  abuse.  "  Sir,"  says  Dr.  Johnson,  "  Goldsmith  is  so  much 
afraid  of  being  unnoticed,  that  he  often  talks,  merely  lest  you 
should  forget  that  he  is  in  the  company."  When  not  combined 
with  Conscientiousness  and  Benevolence,  it  leads  to  feigned  pro- 
fessions of  respect  and  friendship  ;  and  many  manifest  it  by  prom- 
ises and  invitations,  never  intended  to  be  fulfilled  or  accepted.  It, 
as  well  as  Self-Esteem,  prompts  to  the  use  of  the  first  person  ; 
but  its  tone  is  that  of  courteous  solicitation,  while  the  /  of  Self- 
Esteem  is  presumptuous,  and  full  of  pretension. 

When,  on  the  other  hand,  the  organ  is  deficient,  and  the  senti- 
ment, in  consequence,  is  feeble,  the  individual  cares  little  about 
30 


234  LOVE  OF  APPROBATION 

the  opinions  entertained  of  him  by  others  ;  and,  jDrovided  they 
have  riot  the  power  to  punish  his  person,  or  abridge  his  possessions, 
he  is  capable  of  laughing  at  their  censures  and  contemning  their 
applause-  Persons  of  this  sort,  if  endowed  with  the  selfish  pro- 
pensities in  a  strong  degree,  constitute  what  are  termed  "imprac- 
ticable "  men  ;  their  whole  feelings  are  concentrated  in  Self,  and 
they  are  dead  to  the  motive  which  might  induce  them  to  abate  one 
iota  of  their  own  pretensions  to  oblige  others.  If  actuated  by  any 
strong  passion,  and  endowed  with  intellect,  it  is  astonishing  what 
they  are  sometimes  able  to  accomplish,  in  attaining  their  objects. 
Strangers  to  ceremony,  and  indifferent  to  censure,  they  meet  with 
a  thousand  rebuffs  which  they  never  feel,  and  are  loaded  with  an 
hundred  mortifications  which  never  affect  them ;  free  from  the 
restraints  which  delicacy  imposes  upon  others,  they  practise  upon 
the  benevolence,  the  disposition  to  oblige,  or  the  interest  of  man- 
kind, and  succeed  m  circumstances  in  which  a  sensitive  mind  would 
have  found  only  obstacles  unsurmountable. 

Philosophers  and  acute  observers  of  human  nature,  have  long 
distinguished  betwixt  Pride  and  Vanity,  but  nevertheless,  no  error 
is  more  frequently  committed  by  ordinary  minds  than  to  confound 
them  ;  and  no  mistake  is  more  common  than  to  imagine  that  beaux 
and  belles,  and  all  individuals  very  tasteful  and  particular  about 
their  personal  appearance  or  equipages,  are  necessarily  extremely 
conceited.  A  large  Love  of  Approbation  and  much  Ideality,  joined 
with  Individuality,  which  produces  attention  to  details,  and  Order, 
will,  in  general,  give  rise  to  the  passion  for  neatness,  propriety, 
and  ornament  ;  but  such  a  combination,  in  place  of  producing  a 
proud  or  conceited  character,  inspires  with  the  very  opposite 
dispositions.  I  rarely  see  a  dandy  who  is  not  at  bottom  a  polite, 
obliging,  good-natured,  but  probably  weak  individual ;  and  it  is 
only  when  large  Self-Esteem  is  added  to  the  combination,  and 
which  is  not  an  indispensable  ingredient  in  beauxism,  that  the 
common  opinion  will  be  justified  by  the  result. 

This  faculty  corresponds  to  the  Desire  of  Esteem  of  Dr.  Reid 
and  Mr.  Stewart,  and  to  the  Desire  of  Glory  of  Dr.  Thomas 
Brown.     Their  observations  on  its  functions  are  generally  correct ; 


LOVE  OF  APPROBATION.  ,235 

but  here,  as  in  the  case  of  Self-Esteem,  they  treat  only  of  its 
heroic  manifestations,  and  present  us  with  no  views  of  its  operations 
on  the  more  interesting  theatre  of  private  life. 

The  faculty,  when  powerful,  gives  a  soft  soliciting  tone  to  the 
voice,  puts  smiles  into  the  countenance,  and  produces  that  elegant 
line  of  beauty  in  the  lips  which  resembles  Apollo's  bow. 

As  formerly  mentioned,  the  French  are  remarkable  for  a  large 
developement  of  the  organ,  while  the  English  excel  in  Self-Esteem. 
The  influence  of  the  Love  of  Approbation  shows  itself  in  the  man- 
ners, institutions,  and  daily  literature  of  France,  in  an  extraordi- 
nary degree.  Compliments  and  praises  are  the  current  coin  of 
conversation,  and  a  late  writer  most  justly  observes,  that,  "  in 
France,  glory  is  the  condiment  to  the  whole  feast  of  life  ;  and  the 
trumpet  of  fame  is  that  which  makes  the  sweetest  music  to  their 
ears."*  In  private  life  also,  an  individual,  who  has  a  great  Love 
of  Approbation  in  his  own  head,  is  extremely  prone  to  pay  com- 
pliments to  others,  from  an  instinctive  feeling  of  the  pleasure  of 
being  praised.  The  organ  is  very  large  in  the  American  Indians'; 
and  the  love  of  decorations  and  ornaments,  whether  these  consist 
of  stars,  garters  and  medals,  or  of  tatooed  faces,  bored  noses  and 
eagles'  feathers,  spring  from  it. 

The  faculty  is  more  active  in  women,  in  general,  than  in  men; 
and  it  is  observed,  that  a  greater  number  of  women  than  of  men 
become  insane  from  this  feeling.  Dr.  Spurzheim  mentions,  that 
he  had  met  with  only  one  man  who  had  become  deranged  from 
this  cause.  Its  effects,  when  diseased,  have  already  been  describ- 
ed in  the  history  of  the  discovery  of  the  organ. 

The  organ  is  possessed  by  the  lower  animals.  The  dog  is 
extremely  fond  of  Approbation,  and  the  horse  displays  the  senti- 
ment, not  only  in  his  sensibility  to  marks  of  affection,  but  in  his 
spirit  of  emulation  in  the  race.  Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that,  in  the 
south  of  France,  the  peasants  attach  a  "bouquet"  to  the  mules 
when  they  have  acquitted  themselves  well,  and  that  the  animals 
understand  it  as  a  mark  of  approbation,  and  feel  afflicted  when  it 
is  taken  away.     He  mentions  also,  that  he  had  a  female  monkey, 

*  Edinburgh  Review,  Nov.  1820,  p.  294. 


236 


CAUTIOUSNESS. 


who,  on  receiving  a  handkerchief,  put  it  on  as  a  robe,  and  took 
extraordinary  delight  in  seeing  it  trail  behind  her  as  a  train.  In  all 
these  creatures  the  organ  is  largely  developed. 

The  organ  is  large  in  Dr.  Hette,  the  Rev.  Mr.  M.,  in  King 
Robert  Bruce,  Clara  Fisher;  and  deficient  in  D.  Haggart  and 
Dempsey. 

It  is  established. 


12.—  CAUTIOUSNESS. 

This  organ  is  situated  near  the  middle  of  each  parietal  bone, 
where  the  ossification  of  the  bone  generally  commences. 
The  figures  represent  its  appearance  when  large  and  small. 

Hindoo.  French  Skull. 


Cautiousness  Lars»e. 


Cautiousness  Small. 


Dr.  Gall  was  acquainted  at  Vienna  with  a  prelate,  a  man  of 
excellent  sense  and  considerable  intellect.  Some  persons  had 
an  aversion  towards  him,  because,  through  fear  of  compromising 
himself,  he  infused  into  his  discourses  interminable  reflections, 
and  delivered  them  with  unsupportable  slowness.  When  any  one 
began  a  conversation  with  him,  it  was  very  difficult  to  bring  it  to  a 
conclusion.  He  paused  continually  in  the  middle  of  his  sentences, 
and  repeated  the  beginning  of  them  two  or  three  times  before 
proceeding  farther.  A  thousand  times  he  pushed  the  patience  of 
Dr.  Gall  to  extremity.  He  never  happened  by  any  accident  to 
give  way  to  the  natural  flow  of  his  ideas  ;  but  recurred  a  hundred 
times  to  what  he  had  already  said,  consulting  with  himself  whether 
he  could  not  amend  it  in  some  point.  His  manner  of  acting  was 
in  conformity  with  his  manner  of  speaking.  He  prepared  with 
infinite   precautions  for  the  most   insignificant  undertakings.     He 


CAUTIOUSNESS.  237 

subjected  every  connexion  to  the  most  rigorous  examination  and 
calculation  before  forming  it. 

This  case,  however,  was  not  by  itself  sufficient  to  arrest  the 
attention  of  Dr.  Gall ;  but  this  prelate  happened  to  be  connected 
in  public  affairs  with  a  Councillor  of  the  Regency,  whose  eternal 
irresolution  had  procured  for  him  the  nickname  of  Cacaclubio.  At 
the  examinations  of  the  public  schools,  these  two  individuals  were 
placed  side  by  side,  and  Dr.  Gall  sat  in  the  seat  immediately 
behind  them.  This  arrangement  afforded  him  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity of  observing  their  heads.  The  circumstance  which  most 
forcibly  arrested  his  attention  was,  that  both  their  heads  were  very 
large  in  the  upper,  lateral,  and  hind  parts,  the  situation  of  the  organ 
in  question.  The  dispositions  and  intellectual  qualities  of  these 
two  men  were,  in  other  respects,  very  different ;  indeed  they 
resembled  each  other  in  circumspection,  and  in  this  particular 
developement  of  head  alone.  The  coincidence  between  them  in 
this  point  suggested  the  idea  to  Dr.  Gall,  that  irresolution,  indeci- 
sion, and  circumspection,  might  be  connected  with  certain  parts 
of  the  brain.  Subsequent  reflection  on  this  disposition,  and 
observation  of  additional  facts,  converted  this  presumption  into 
certainty. 

It  is  a  principle  in  Phrenology,  that  absence  of  one  quality  never 
confers  another.  Every  feeling  is  something  positive  in  itself,  and 
is  not  a  mere  negation  of  a  different  emotion.  Fear,  then,  is  a 
positive  sentiment,  and  not  the  mere  want  of  courage  ;  and  it 
appears  to  me  that  the  faculty  now  under  discussion  produces  this 
feeling.  The  tendency  of  the  sentiment  is  to  make  the  individual 
apprehend  danger ;  and  this  leads  him  to  hesitate  before  he  acts, 
and  to  trace  consequences  that  he  may  be  assured  of  his  safety. 
Dr.  Spurzheim  names  it  "Cautiousness,"  —  which  appellation  I 
retain  as  sufficiently  expressive,  although  the  primitive  feeling 
appears,  on  a  rigid  analysis,  to  be  simply  fear.  Dr.  Gall  says,  "It 
was  requisite  that  man  and  animals  should  be  endowed  with  a 
faculty  to  enable  them  to  foresee  certain  events,  to  give  them  a 
presentiment  of  certain  circumstances,  and  to  prompt  them  to 
provide  against  danger.     Without  such  a  disposition,  their  attention 


238  CAUTIOUSNESS. 

would  have  been  occupied  only  with  the  present ;  and  tliey  would 
have  been  incapable  of  taking  any  measure  with  reference  to  the 
future."  Accordingly,  he  describes  the  faculty  which  prompts  to 
these  actions,  as  if  it  comprised  something  intellectual ;  and  calls  it 
"  Circumspection,  Foresight."  Dr.  Spurzheim  "  does  not  believe 
that  it  foresees  ;  it  is,  in  his  opinion,  blind,  and  without  reflection, 
though  it  may  excite  the  reflective  faculties."  This  observation 
appears  to  me  correct. 

A  full  developement  of  this  organ  is  essential  to  a  prudent  char- 
acter. It  produces  a  cautious,  circumspect,  and  considerate 
disposition  of  mind.  Persons  so  organized,  says  Dr.  Gall,  "are 
habitually  on  their  guard  ;  they  know  that  it  is  more  difficult  to 
sustain  than  to  acquire  reputation,  and,  consequently,  every  new 
undertaking  is  prosecuted  with  equal  care  as  the  first.  They  look 
forward  to  all  possible  dangers,  and  are  anxious  to  anticipate  every 
occurrence  ;  they  ask  advice  of  every  one,  and  often,  after  having 
received  much  counsel,  they  remain  undecided.  They  put  great 
faith  in  the  observation,  that,  of  a  hundred  misfortunes  which  befall 
us,  ninety-nine  arise  from  our  own  fault.  Such  persons  never 
break  any  article ;  they  may  pass  their  lives  in  pruning  trees,  or  in 
working  with  sharp  tools,  without  cutting  themselves.  If  they  see 
a  vessel  placed  near  the  edge  of  the  table,  their  nerves  shrink.  If 
they  give  credit,  or  indulge  in  gaming,  they  never  lose  large  sums 
of  money.  Finally,"  says  he,  "they  form  a  standing  subject  of 
criticism  to  their  less  considerate  neighbors,  who  look  on  their 
forebodings  as  extravagant,  and  their  precautions  as  trifling  and 
absurd."* 

When  the  organ  is  too  large,  it  produces  doubts,  irresolution, 
and  wavering;  and  may  lead  to  absolute  incapacity  for  vigorous  and 
decisive  conduct.  A  great  and  involuntary  activity  of  it  produces 
a  panic, — a  state  in  which  the  mind  is  hurried  away  by  an  irre- 
sistible emotion  of  fear,  for  which  no  adequate  external  cause 
exists. 

The  organ  is  almost  uniformly  large  in  cliildren,  and  appears, 
from  this  circumstance,  to  be  developed  at  an  earlier  age  than 
"'  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau.  tome  iv.  p.  320 


CAUTIOUSNESS.  239 

many  of  the  other  organs.  This  is  a  wise  provision  of  nature, 
as  caution  is  never  more  indispensable  to  the  safety  of  the  individ- 
ual, than  during  the  helpless  years  of  infancy  and  childhood.  Chil- 
dren possessing  a  large  endowment  may  be  safely  trusted  to  take 
care  of  themselves  ;  they  will  rarely  be  found  in  danger.  When, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  organs  are  small  in  a  child,  he  will  be  a 
hapless  infant;  fifty  keepers  will  not  supply  the  place  of  the 
instinctive  guardianship  performed  by  adequate  Cautiousness.  In 
a  boy  of  six  years  of  age  it  was  very  small,  and  he  took  off  his 
clothes  to  leap  into  an  old  quarry  full  of  water  to  recover  his  cap, 
which  the  wind  had  blown  into  it,  totally  insensible  to  the  danger, 
which  was  imminent,  of  being  drowned.  In  some  very  yoimg 
children,  the  organs  are  so  prominent  as  to  alarm  mothers  with 
the  fear  of  disease  or  deformity.  Water  in  the  head  indeed  fre- 
quently shows  itself  by  an  enlargement  of  tliis  part  of  the  skull, 
and  it  is  not  uncommon  for  unskilful  persons  to  mistalce  a  natural 
and  healthy  developement  of  the  organ  in  question,  for  an  indication 
of  this  disease. 

In  mature  age,  when  the  organ  is  very  deficient,  the  individual 
is  rash  and  precipitate.  He  is  never  apprehensive  about  the  results 
of  liis  conduct,  and  often  proceeds  to  act  without  due  considera- 
tion. Persons  of  this  description  are  frequently  of  a  gay,  careless 
disposition,  and  engrossed  entirely  with  the  present ;  they  adopt 
rash  resolutions,  and  enter  upon  hazardous  enterprises,  without 
deliberation  or  advice.  In  domestic  life,  misfortmies  overtake 
them  in  consequence  of  their  want  of  precaution.  From  con- 
stitutional recklessness,  they  precipitate  themselves  against  objects 
in  the  dark  ;  they  break  frangible  articles,  owing  to  want  of  pre- 
caution in  arranging  them ;  and  lose  the  money  which  they  lend,  by 
omitting  to  take  proper  security  for  repayment.  Riding  upon  a  slip- 
pery path,  quite  insensible  to  danger,  their  horse  falls  and  deprives 
them  of  life.  A  cat,  or  other  animal,  overturns  the  candle  which 
they  have  left  burning,  and  sets  their  house  on  fire.  In  short,  they 
are  subject  to  interminable  misfortunes,  through  want  of  caution 
in  their  conduct.* 

*  Gall  sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau,  p.  319. 


240  CAUTIOUSNESS. 

This  faculty  produces  a  repressing  influence,  and,  in  estimating 
its  effects,  the  faculties  with  which  it  is  combined  ought  to  be  kept 
in  view.  An  individual,  with  large  Acquisitiveness  and  Self- 
Esteem,  which  produce  instinctive  selfishness,  was  pointed  out  to 
me  as  remarkably  careful  of  his  own  interest,  although  the  organ 
of  Cautiousness  was  deficient  in  his  head.  It  was  admitted,  how- 
ever, that  his  prudence  consisted  chiefly  in  resisting  solicitations  to 
perform  generous  actions,  and  to  enter  into  suretiship  ;  but  that, 
when  a  tempting  prospect  of  gain  was  held  out  to  Mm,  although 
attended  with  great  risk,  he  was  liable  to  dash  into  the  adventure, 
and  in  consequence  frequently  sustained  severe  losses.  His  natural 
dispositions  rendered  him  little  prone  to  excessive  generosity,  and 
in  that  respect  no  danger  awaited  him  ;  but  if  Cautiousness  had 
been  large,  it  would  have  rendered  him  alive  to  the  perils  of  spec- 
ulation, and  prompted  him  to  prefer  small  and  certain  profits,  to  the 
chances  of  greater  but  uncertain  gain. 

Extreme  and  involuntary  activity  of  this  faculty  produces  inter- 
nal sensations  of  dread  and  apprehension,  highly  distressing  to  the 
individual,  although  often  very  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  ignorant 
spectators.  Many  persons  beheve  that  the  feelings  of  the  mind 
depend  upon  the  dictates  of  the  understanding,  and  that  individuals, 
if  they  would  allow  themselves  to  be  convinced  of  the  groundless- 
ness of  their  apprehensions,  might,  by  an  act  of  volition,  remove 
these  terrors.  Such  notions  argue  great  ignorance  of  human 
nature.  As  easily  could  we  remove  a  pain  from  the  leg,  by 
resolving  to  be  quit  of  it,  as  the  unhappy  sufferer,  under  diseased 
Cautiousness,  could  dispel  the  mental  gloom  by  which  he  is 
afflicted. 

A  large  developement  of  this  organ,  combined  with  much  De- 
structiveness,  predisposes  to  self-destruction.  Cautiousness  does 
not  produce  suicide  as  a  specific  act,  but  the  sentiment,  when 
excited  to  excess  by  disease  of  the  organs,  gives  rise  to  intense 
melancholy,  anguish,  and  anxiety,  and,  by  rendering  life  extremely 
miserable,  indirectly  prompts  to  this  result.  Hence  the  fact,  that 
the  best  of  men,  and  those  in  whose  external  circumstances  no 
adequate  motive  can  be  found,  are  sometimes  led  to  that  fatal  deed. 


CAUTIOUSNESS.  241 

Let  no  one  suppose  such  an  act  done  from  mere  error  in  judgment. 
It  proceeds  always  from  internal  and  involuntary  feelings  of  a  dis- 
eased nature,  of  the  misery  and  torment  of  which,  no  m.an,  who  has 
never  felt  any  thing  similar,  can  form  an  adequate  conception.  The 
great  ignorance  of  mankind  in  general,  regarding  the  state  of  mind 
which  predisposes  to  suicide,  has  arisen  from  die  influence  of 
the  organs  having  been  entirely  overlooked,  and  the  fact  not  being 
known,  that  disease  in  any  of  them  deranges  the  character  of 
the  same  feeling  which  it  serves  to  manifest,  and  often  renders  it 
independent  of  the  will.  Dr.  A.  Combe  examined  a  considerable 
number  of  suicides  in  the  Morgue  at  Paris,  and  found  in  them  Hope 
generally  small,  with  Cautiousness  and  Destructiveness  large  ;  and 
I  have  seen  several  similar  examples. 

Many  instances  of  disease  of  this  organ  occur,  not  only  in  hos- 
pitals for  the  insane,  but  in  private  life.  Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that, 
at  Vienna,  he  attended  two  fathers  of  families  in  easy  circum- 
stances, who,  nevertheless,  were  tormented  night  and  day  with  the 
apprehension  that  their  wives  and  children  were  exposed  to  die 
of  hunger.  The  most  earnest  assurances  of  their  friends  were 
insufficient  to  make  them  comprehend  that  this  fear  was  altogether 
chimerical.  After  their  recovery,  they  could  not  bear  to  hear  their 
condition  mentioned,  through  terror  of  a  relapse.  Before  their 
malady,  they  were  known  to  be  men  of  gloomy  dispositions. 

Pinel,  under  the  head  of  Melancholy,  mentions  a  variety  of 
cases  referrible  to  diseased  Cautiousness.  "  A  distinguished  military 
officer,"  says  he,  "after  fifty  years  of  active  service  in  the  cavalry, 
was  attacked  with  disease.  It  commenced  by  his  experiencing 
vivid  emotions  from  the  slightest  causes  ;  if,  for  example,  he  heard 
any  disease  spoken  of,  he  immediately  believed  himself  to  be 
attacked  by  it ;  if  any  one  was  mentioned  as  deranged  in  intellect, 
he  imagined  himself  insane,  and  retired  into  his  chamber  full  of 
melancholy  thoughts  and  inquietude.  Every  thing  became  for  him 
a  subject  of  fear  and  alarm.  If  he  entered  into  a  hpuse,  he  was 
afraid  that  the  floor  would  fall,  and  precipitate  him  amidst  its  ruins. 
He  could  not  pass  a  bridge  without  terror,  unless  impelled  by  the 
sentiment  of  honor  for  the  purpose  of  fighting." 
31 


242  CAUTIOUSNESS. 

The  forms  in  which  this  affection  shows  itself  are  numberless. 
It  is  in  vain  to  address  the  understanding  of  the  patient  by  argu- 
ment, because  the  disease  consists  in  a  disordered  state  of  a 
corporeal  organ,  and  the  only  consequence  of  the  most  irresistible 
demonstration  to  the  intellect,  would  be  a  change  of  the  object  of 
terror,  but  no  alleviation  of  the  feeling  of  painful  apprehension  itself. 

Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that  this  organ  is  possessed  in  a  high  degree 
by  those  of  the  lower  animals,  which  venture  out  only  during  night, 
as  owls  and  bats,  and  also  by  those  animals  which  place  sentinels 
to  warn  them  of  approaching  danger,  as  the  wild  goose,  chamois, 
cranes,  starlings  and  buzzards. 

Among  the  lower  animals,  it  is  generally  larger  in  females  than 
in  males  ;  and  Dr.  Gall  mentions  some  curious  facts,  illustrative  of 
the  greater  manifestation  of  the  faculty  by  the  former  than  by  the 
latter.  He  happened  to  kill,  says  he,  as  many  as  20  squirrels, 
without  finding  a  single  female  among  them  ;  although  it  was  not  the 
season  in  which  they  are  confined  by  the  care  of  their  young.  He 
caught,  during  three  years,  44  cats  in  his  garden,  among  which  he 
found  only  5  females.  During  one  winter  500  bears  were  killed  in 
the  two  provinces  of  Virginia,  among  which  only  2  females  were 
discovered.  An  account  of  the  wolves  destroyed  in  France,  from 
1st  January  1816  to  1st  January  1817,  was  published  officially  by 
Count  Gerardin,  Captain  of  the  Royal  Chase,  and  it  showed  1894 
males,  and  only  522  females.  Among  the  goats,  the  leader  is  always 
a  female,  and  their  safety  it  will  be  recollected,  arises  from  a  high 
degree  of  circumspection.  Among  wild  cattle,  horses,  and  other 
animals  who  are  defended  by  courage,  the  leader  is  uniformly  a 
male,  for  in  this  sex,  in  general,  Combativeness  is  larger.  This 
fact,  of  females  in  general  being  more  cautious  than  males,  is 
corroborated  by  Captain  Franklin,  in  his  Journey  to  the  Arctic 
Regions.  "  It  is  extraordinary,"  says  he,  "  that  although  I  made 
inquiries  extensively  among  the  Indians,  I  met  with  but  one  who 
said  that  he  had  killed  a  she  bear  with  young  in  the  womb." 

It  has  been  remarked,  in  the  way  of  criticism  on  these  state- 
ments, that  more  males  are  produced  by  nature  than  females;  which 
is  quite  correct;  but  this  excess  of  males  does  not  extend  to  the 


CAUTIOUSNESS.  243 

twentieth  part  of  the  difference  in  the  number  of  their  deaths  hy 
violence. 

The  metaphysicians  do  not  treat  of  "fear,"  or  of  the  instinct- 
ive tendency  to  avoid  danger,  as  an  original  principle  of  the  mind ; 
Out  Dr.  Thomas  Brown  ranks  melancholy  among  the  primitive 
emotions,  which  is  one  of  the  effects  of  this  faculty  in  a  state  of 
constant  but  not  violent  activity. 

The  organ  is  larger  in  the  Germans,  English,  and  Scots,  than  in 
the  French;  and  it  appears  to  be  larger  in  the  English  than  in  the 
Turkish  head.  Mr.  Forster,  a  civil  servant  on  the  Madras  Estab- 
lishment, travelled  overland  from  Bengal  to  England,  in  the  year 
1782,  disguised  as  a  Turk.  In  all  the  numberless  scenes  through 
which  he  passed,  he  had  the  address  successfully  to  maintain  his 
disguise,  except  in  one  single  instance,  in  which  he  was  detected 
by  one  individual,  who  was  led  to  certainty  in  the  discovery  which 
he  made  by  examining  the  shape  of  the  traveller's  head.  He  says, 
"a  Georgian  merchant,  who  occupied  the  room  next  to  mine,  (it 
was  in  Cashmere,)  and  was  a  very  agreeable  neighbor,  did  not,  I 
observed,  give  a  ready  credit  to  my  story,  which  he  cross-exam- 
ined with  some  tokens  of  suspicion;  and  one  day  having  desired 
to  look  at  my  head,  he  decidedly  pronounced  it  to  be  that  of  a 
Christian.  In  a  future  conversation  he  explained  to  me,  and 
proved  by  comparison,  that  the  head  of  a  Christian  is  broad 
behind,  and  flatbed  out  at  the  crown;— that  a  Maliomedan's  head 
grows  nai'row  at  the  top,  and,  like  a  monkey's,  has  a  conic  form." 
(Forster's  Journey,  vol.  ii.  p.  33.)  This  description  indicates 
Cautiousness  to  be  larger  in  the  Christian.  It  is  large  in  Bruce, 
Raphael,  Hette,  the  Mummies  and  Hindoos;  moderate  in  Bel- 
lingham,  Mary  Macinnes  and  Negroes.  The  difference  between  a 
large  and  small  developement  frequently  exceeds  an  inch  in  extent ; 
and  as  the  organ  is  particularly  easy  of  observation,  it  deserves  the 
attention  of  beginners. 

The  organ  is  ascertained. 


244 


BENEVOLENCE. 


Genus  III.— OF  THE  AFFECTIVE  FACULTIES. 

11. — Superior  Sentiments. 

Hitherto  we  have  considered  Man  so  far  as  he  is  animal. 
But,  besides  the  organs  and  faculties  already  spoken  of,  common 
to  him  with  the  brutes,  he  is  endowed  with  a  variety  of  sentiments, 
which  constitute  the  human  character.  Of  many  of  these  the 
lower  animals  appear  to  be  destitute.  The  convolutions  which 
form  the  organs  of  Veneration,  Hope,  and  Conscientiousness  in 
tlie  human  brain,  run  transversely;  and  in  the  brains  of  the  lower 
animals,  so  far  as  I  have  observed,  no  corresponding  convolutions 
appear.  The  organs  of  Benevolence  and  Imitation,  however, 
which  are  here  classed  among  the  superior  sentiments,  run  longi- 
tudinally, and  corresponding  parts  are  found  in  the  brains  of  the 
lower  animals.  The  faculties  now  to  be  treated  of  produce  emo- 
tions or  feelings. 


13. BENEVOLENCE. 

This  organ  is  situated  at  the  upper  part  of  the  frontal  bone, 
m  the  coronal  aspect,  and  immediately  before  the  fontanel.  The 
figures  represent  the  organ  large  and  small. 

Jacob  Jervis.  Charib. 


Benevolence  small. 


Benevolence  large. 

One  of  Dr.  Gall's  friends  frequently  said  to  him,  that,  as  he 
sought  for  external  indications  of  mental  qualities,  he  ought  to 
examine  the  head  of  his  servant  named  Joseph.  "It  is  impos- 
sible," said  his  friend,  "  to  find  a  greater  degree  of  goodness  than 


BENEVOLENCE.  245 

that  young  man  possesses.  For  more  than  ten  years  during  which 
he  has  been  in  my  service,  I  have  seen  him  manifest,  on  all 
occasions,  only  benevolence,  and  sweetness  of  disposition.  This 
is  the  more  surprising,  as  he  does  not  possess  the  advantages  of 
education,  and  has  grown  up  to  manhood  among  servants  of  very 
inferior  habits."  Dr.  Gall  adds,  that,  previous  to  that  time,  he 
had  been  far  from  supposing  that  what  is  called  goodness  of  heart 
could  have  any  organ  in  the  brain,  and,  consequently,  had  never 
looked  for  indications  of  it  in  the  head.  The  repeated  solicitations 
of  his  friend,  however,  at  length  awoke  his  curiosity-. 

He  immediately  recollected  the  habitual  conduct  of  a  young 
man,  whom  he  had  known  from  his  most  tender  infancy,  and  who 
was  distinguished  from  his  numerous  brothers  and  sisters  by  his 
goodness  of  heart.  Although  he  was  passionately  fond  of  the 
games  proper  to  his  age,  and  delighted  in  scouring  the  forests  in 
search  of  birds'  nests  ;  yet  no  sooner  did  any  of  his  brothers  or 
sisters  become  sick,  than  an  inclination  yet  more  irresistible  kept 
him  at  home,  and  drew  from  him  the  most  assiduous  attentions 
towards  the  sufferer.  When  grapes,  or  apples,  or  cherries,  were 
distributed  among  the  children,  his  share  was  always  the  least,  and 
he  rejoiced  in  seeing  the  others  partake  more  largely  than  himself. 
He  was  never  more  pleased  than  when  some  good  fortune  happen- 
ed to  those  whom  he  loved,  on  which  occasions  he  often  shed 
tears  of  joy.  He  was  fond  af  taking  charge  of  sheep,  dogs, 
rabbits,  pigeons  and  birds,  and  if  one  of  these  birds  happened  to 
die,  he  wept  bitterly,  which  did  not  fail  to  draw  upon  him  the 
ridicule  of  his  companions.  Up  to  the  present  time,  continues 
Dr.  Gall,  benevolence  and  goodness  are  the  distinguishing  char- 
acteristics of  this  individual.  These  dispositions  certainly  did  not 
arise  from  education  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  had  been  all  along 
surrounded  by  those  whose  conduct  was  calculated  to  produce  the 
very  opposite  results.  Dr.  Gall  then  began  to  suspect,  that  what 
is  called  goodness  of  heart  is  not  an  acquired,  but  an  innate,  quality 
of  the  mind. 

On  another  occasion,  amidst  a  very  large  family,  he  spoke  of 
the  boasted  goodness  of  heart  of  the  servant  Joseph.     "  Ah  !  " 


246  BENEVOLENCE. 

said  the  eldest  daughter,  "  our  brother  Charles  is  exactly  like  him  ; 
you  must  positively  examine  his  head,  I  cannot  tell  you  how  good 
a  child  he  is." 

"  I  had  thus  in  my  eye,"  says  Dr.  Gall,  "three  cases,  in  which 
goodness  of  disposition  was  strongly  marked.  I  took  casts  of  their 
heads,  placed  them  along  side  of  each  other,  and  continued  to 
examine  them,  until  I  discovered  a  developement  common  to  the 
three.  This,  I  at  last  found,  although  the  heads  were  in  other 
respects  very  differently  formed.  In  the  meantime,  I  tried  to 
find  similar  cases  in  families,  schools,  &c.  that  I  might  be  in  a 
condition  to  multiply  and  correct  my  observations.  I  extended 
my  investigation  to  animals  also,  and,  in  a  short  time,  collected  so 
great  a  number  of  facts,  that  there  is  no  fundamental  quality,  or 
faculty,  whose  existence  is  better  established  than  that  of  Benevo- 
lence, and  the' organ  with  which  it  is  connected." 

The  faculty  produces  the  desire  of  the  happiness  of  others,  and 
disposes  to  compassion  and  active  goodness.  It  is  easy  to  distin- 
guish kindness  fio\<?ing  from  this  sentiment, — from  acts  of  attention, 
arising  from  Love  of  Approbation,  or  more  interested  motives. 
A  warmth  of  manner,  and  directness  of  purpose,  are  communicated 
by  this  faculty,  that  touch  the  mind  at  once.  We  feel  its  character, 
and  recognise  it  as  genuine,  unalloyed  goodness,  aiming  at  no  end 
but  the  welfare  of  its  object.  There  is,  on  the  other  hand,  an  air 
of  coldness  and  constraint  attending  deeds  of  kindness,  proceed- 
ing from  interested  motives,  betraying  the  source  from  which  they 
flow.  The  secret  spring,  and  ulterior  object,  are  apparent,  not- 
withstanding the  efforts  made  to  conceal  them.  St.  Paul  gives  a 
beautiful  description  of  the  genuine  character  of  this  sentiment,  in 
his  account  of  Christian  charity,  beginning,  "  Charity  sufTereth  long 
and  is  kind  ;  charity  envieth  not ;  charity  vaunteth  not  itself ;  is 
not  puffed  up."  The  good  Samaritan  mentioned  in  Scripture,  is  a 
delightful  instance  of  the  disposition  formed  b}^  Benevolence  when 
eminently  powerful. 

This  faculty  is  a  great  source  of  happiness  to  the  possessor.  It 
communicates  a  lively,  amiable,  delightful  tinge  to  the  impressions 
received  by  the  mind  from  without.     It   produces   liberality  of 


BENEVOLENCE.  247 

sentiment  towards  all  mankind,  a  disposition  to  love  them,  and  to 
dwell  on  their  virtues  rather  than  their  vices.  A  person  in  whom 
this  feeling  is  strong,  rarely  complains  of  the  ingratitude  or  heart- 
lessness  of  others.  His  goodness  provides  its  own  reward.  The 
organ  appears  very  large  in  the  mask  of  Henri  Quatre.  When 
some '  one  spoke  to  him  of  an  officer  of  the  League,  by  whom  he 
vvas  not  loved,  he  replied,  "  Je  veux  luifaire  tant  de  Men,  que  je 
leforcerai  de  m^  aimer  malgre  lid."  A  person  thus  endowed  is 
so  conscious  of  wishing  well  to  others,  that  he  does  not  doubt 
of  their  good  will  towards  himself.  Adhesiveness  attaches  us  to 
friends  and  to  country  ;  but  Benevolence  brings  the  whole  human 
race  within  the  circle  of  our  affections.  Fenelon  exhibited  a 
beautiful  manifestation  of  it,  when  he  said,  "  I  am  a  true  French- 
man, and  love  my  country;  but  I  love  manJdnd  better  than 
my  country."  It  inspired  Henri  Quatre  also,  when  he  replied  to 
those  who  exhorted  him  to  rigor  towards  some  places  which  had 
joined  the  League  ;  "  La  satisfaction  qu'on  tire  de  la  vengeance 
ne  dure  qu'un  moment ;  mais  celle  qu'on  tire  de  la  clemence  est 
eternelle."  The  organ  is  large,  and  very  distinctly  marked,  in  the 
mask  of  Jacob  Jervis,  presented  by  Dr.  Abell  to  the  Phrenological 
Society,  and  represented  on  p.  244.  That  individual  possessed 
the  sentiment  in  so  high  a  degree,  that  he  was  obliged  to  hide 
himself  when  he  saw  persons  coming  to  make  improper  solicita- 
tions, being  conscious  of  his  inability  to  resist  them. 

It  is  a  vulgar  idea  that  this  faculty  cannot  be  manifested,  except 
in  bestowing  alms  or  giving  away  money.  It  may  be  exerted  in 
the  domestic  circle,  and  in  society,  in  a  thousand  ways,  productive 
of  advantage,  without  any  idea  of  donation.  It  is  benevolence  to 
those  with  whom  we  live,  to  order  our  arrangements  with  a  due 
regard  to  their  comfort  and  happiness  ;  not  to  deny  them  legitimate 
and  proper  gratifications  of  their  own  dispositions  ;  it  is  benevolence 
to  suppress  our  own  humors  and  tendencies,  when  these  would 
give  unnecessary  pain  to  others  ;  to  restrain  Self-Esteem  and 
Destructiveness,  for  example,  in  our  commands  ;  to  be  mild  and 
merciful  in  our  censures  ;  to  exert  our  influence  and  authority  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  others  ;  and  one  of  the   most  benevolent 


248  BENEVOLENCE. 

of  all  exercises,  is  to  visit  the  poor  and  vicious,  when  suffering 
and  wretched,  even  with  the  view  of  administering  only  the  pecu- 
niary bounty  of  others. 

Deficiency  of  Benevolence  does  not  produce  cruelty  or  any 
positively  bad  sentiment ;  but  it  leads  to  regai-dlessness  of  the 
welfare  of  others.  When  the  organ  is  small,  a  powerful  restraint 
is  withdrawn  from  the  lower  propensities.  In  Belhngham,  Hare, 
Griffiths,  and  other  cold-blooded  and  deliberate  murderers,  the 
organ  is  decidedly  deficient.  Those  in  whom  this  organ  is  less 
than  Acquisitiveness  and  Self-Esteem,  rarely  feel  themselves  called 
on  to  join  in  works  of  charity,  to  contribute  to  subscriptions,  or  to 
bestow  personal  exertions  for  the  benefit  of  others ;  they  generally 
urge  the  apology,  that  they  have  enough  to  do  with  themselves, 
and  that  nobody  manifests  Benevolence  to  them.  This  last  excuse 
may  be  just;  for  it  is  in  the  nature  of  all  the  higher  sentiments 
lo  be  doubly  rewarded;  first,  in  the  enjoyment  which  attends 
the  very  exercise  of  them  ;  and  secondly,  in  the  good  will  and 
kindly  feeling  which  the  manifestation  of  them  generates  in  others. 
Closely  connected  as  men  are  in  society,  and  dependent,  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  on  each  other  for  prosperity  and  happi- 
ness, no  individual  can  enjoy,  or  leave  to  his  children,  a  richer 
and  more  valuable  treasure,  than  the  esteem  and  affection  of  his 
fellows,  founded  on  respect  and  gratitude  for  his  own  virtues  and 
generosity.  Such  advantages,  indeed,  the  selfish  man  cannot  enjoy; 
for  his  conduct  excites  no  benevolence  in  others  towards  him,  and 
his  selfishness  becomes  the  more  necessaiy,  as  he  has  chosen  it 
as  his  stay.  When  large  Acquisitiveness  and  Self-Esteem  ai-e 
combined  with  this  organ  small,  the  individual  will  be  an  utter 
disbeliever  in  disinterested  goodness,  and  will  regai'd  generosity, 
which  has  no  selfish  end,  as  imbecilit}^  Such  a  combination, 
also,  if  joined  w^ith  much  Destructiveness,  probably  leads  its 
possessors  to  doubt  of  the  benevolence  of  the  Supreme  Being. 
Deficiency  of  the  organ,  in  short,  exposes  the  mind  to  the  pre- 
dominance of  the  lower  feelings,  and  the  temper  is  then  apt  to 
become  cold,  harsh,  sour  and  unhappy.  There  is  little  sympathy 
with  enjoyment ;  the  face  of  creation  does  not  appear  to  smile ; 


BENEVOLENCE.  249 

moral  and  physical  objects  ai-e  viewed  on  their  darkest  sides  ;  and 
if  Destructiveness  be  large,  the  mind  steels  itself,  with  malignity, 
as  a  defence  against  their  imagined  evil  qualities  ;  misanthropy, 
in  short,  is  the  result.  The  character  of  Lucifer,  as  drawn  by 
Milton,  and  by  Byron  in  his  drama  of  Cain,  is  a  personification 
of  great  Destructiveness  and  Intellect,  with  an  utter  destitution  of 
Benevolence. 

The  organ  is  small  in  tribes  of  men  remarkable  for  cruelty, 
for  example,  in  the  Charibs.  In  the  representations  of  Tiberius, 
Caligula,  Caracalla,  Nero,  Catherine  of  Medicis,  Christian  the 
Cruel,  Danton  and  Robespiere,  says  Dr.  Gall,  the  organ  is  defi- 
cient; while  it  is  lai-ge  in  Trajan,  Marcus  Aurelius,  Henri  Quatre, 
and  other  individuals  distinguished  for  benevolent  feeling. 

Benevolence,  admirable  as  it  is  in  its  own  nature,  requires  to  be 
directed  by  Conscientiousness  and  Intellect,  otherwise  it  produces 
abuses.  When  too  powerful,  and  not  so  guided,  it  leads  to 
profusion.  This  kind  of  facility  is  not  the  efiect  of  mere  weak- 
ness of  reasoning  power ;  it  arises  from  an  over  ready  disposition 
'^^o  give,  without  an  adequate  motive  or  consideration,  except  the 
pleasure  of  bestowing. 

Benevolence  very  powerful,  with  deficient  Firmness,  may  lead 
also  to  the  sacrifice  of  the  just  interests  of  the  individual,  to  the 
necessities  or  cupidity  of  others.  In  short,  this  sentiment, 
indulged  without  consideration,  produces  the  worst  consequences; 
indiscriminate  donations  to  beggars  in  the  street  encourage  profli- 
gacy; and  compulsory  assessments  for  support  of  the  poor,  have 
often  proved  the  pai-ents  of  idleness  and  cai'eless  conduct.  It 
can  never  be  sufficiently  inculcated,  that  the  functions  of  the 
different  faculties  of  the  mind  are  distinct,  that  those  which  feel 
give  merely  an  impulse  in  general,  and  that  Nature  intended  the 
direction  of  them  to  be  placed  under  the  faculties  which  reason. 
Hence,  the  individual  who  instinctively  feels  a  vivid  compassion 
for  every  object  in  distress,  ought  to  be  aware,  that  this  impulse 
is  not  the  voice  of  inspiration  directing  him  to  the  mode  in  which 
it  ought  to  be  indulged.  On  the  contrary,  the  stronger  the 
emotion,  the  power  of  direction  is  not  unfrequently  the  weaker ; 
32 


250  BENEVOLENCE. 

because  the  feeling  is  in  itself  of  so  excellent  a  character,  and  so 
delightful,  that  the  man  who  is  inspired  by  it  is  the  last  to  suspect 
the  necessity  of  much  consideration  in  regard  to  its  exercise.  On 
the  other  hand,  however,  it  must  also  be  remembered,  that  the 
faculties  which  reason  do  not  feel  Benevolence,  and  that,  hence, 
that  individual  is  most  fitted  to  mature  wise  plans  of  charity,  to 
whom  Nature  has  given  most  of  the  faculty  which  feels  this  emo- 
tion, with  most  of  the  faculties  which  trace  consequences,  and 
direct  it. 

It  has  been  objected,  that  Nature  cannot  have  placed  a  faculty 
of  Benevolence,  and  another  of  Destructiveness,  in  the  same  mind; 
but  Man  is  confessedly  an  assemblage  of  various  qualities.  The 
great  modern  Novelist  speaks  of  "  the  well  known  cases  of  men  of 
undoubted  benevolence  of  character  and  disposition,  whose  prin- 
cipal delight  is  to  see  a  miserable  criminal,  degraded  ahke  by  his 
previous  crimes,  and  the  sentence  which  he  has  incurred,  conclude 
a  vicious  and  a  ivretched  life,  by  an  ignominious  and  cruel 
death."*  This  indicates  Benevolence  coexisting  in  the  same  indi- 
vidual with  Destructiveness.     The  greatest  of  Poets  has  said, — 

"  O  thou  goddess, 
Thou  divine  Nature,  how  thyself  thou  blazon'st 
In  these  two  princely  boys  !  They  are  as  gentle 
As  zephyrs,  blowing  below  the  violet, 
Not  wagging  his  sweet  head ;  and  yet  as  rough, 
Their  royal  blood  enchafF'd,  as  the  rud'st  wind, 
That  by  the  top  doth  take  the  mountain-pine, 
And  make  him  stoop  to  the  vale." 

Here  Shakspeare  informs  us,  that  these  boys  manifested  much 
Combativeness  and  Destructiveness,  combined  with  great  Benevo- 
lence. The  sword  is  one  of  the  emblems  of  State,  and  what  is  it 
but  the  symbol  of  destruction  ready  to  fall  on  the  heads  of  those 
who  offend  against  the  laws.? — ministering  thus,  in  its  very  severity, 
to  purposes  of  Benevolence  and  Justice.  What  are  the  implements 
of  war  but  instruments  of  destruction;  and  for  what  end  do  soldiers 
take  the  field,  but  to  destroy  their  enemies.'*  And  yet,  surgeons 
*  St.  Ronan's  Well. 


BENEVOLENCE.  251 

and  numerous  assistants  attend  on  armies,  to  succor  those  on  whom 
the  calamities  of  war  have  fallen  ;  the  two  faculties,  which  are 
deemed  incompatible,  being  thus  manifested  together,  with  delib- 
erate design.  Without  Combativeness  and  Destructiveness  there 
would  be  no  war;  and  without  Benevolence,  if  these  existed,  there 
would  be  neither  mercy  nor  compassion.  Instead,  therefore,  of 
the  coexistence  of  these  faculties  forming  an  objection  to  the 
phrenological  system,  it  proves  its  harmony  with  nature. 

So  far,  indeed,  are  Benevolence  and  Destructiveness  from  being 
incompatible,  that  the  latter  is  frequently  the  means  of  calling  the 
former  into  vivacious  activity,  and  both  feelings  are  found  in  a 
state  of  high  excitement  at  the  same  moment.  "  Destructiveness," 
says  Mr.  Scott,  "  may  often  come  in  aid  of  Benevolence  or  of 
Justice,  or  of  the  other  superior  sentiments,  resisting  every  species 
of  fraud,  oppression,  and  wrong.  Thus,  in  the  character  given  of 
himself  by  Job,  he  says,  '  I  brake  the  jaws  of  the  vi^icked,  and 
plucked  the  spoil  out  of  his  teeth.'  "  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
more  striking  and  appropriate  example  of  the  simultaneous  activity 
of  Destructiveness  and  Benevolence,  than  that  furnished  by  the 
beautiful  and  pathetic  stanzas  of  Burns,  written  "  on  seeing  a 
wounded  hare  limp  by  him,  which  a  fellow  had  just  shot  at;"  nor 
would  it  be  easy  to  decide  which  of  the  two  faculties  had  the  ascen- 
dency in  the  poet's  mind  on  the  occasion — so  vehemently  has  he 
given  vent  to  both.  The  last  line,  it  will  be  observed,  he  has 
dedicated  equally  to  the  expression  of  each: — 

"  Inhuman  man  !  curse  on  thy  barb'rous  art, 
And  blasted  be  thy  murder-aiming  eye  ; 
May  never  pity  soothe  thee  with  a  sigh, 
Nor  ever  pleasure  glad  thy  cruel  heart ! 

Go  live,  poor  wanderer  of  the  wood  and  field. 
The  bitter  little  that  of  life  remains  : 
No  more  the  thickening  brakes  and  verdant  plains 

To  thee  shall  home,  or  food,  or  pastime  yield. 

Seek,  mangled  wretch,  some  place  of  wonted  rest, 

No  more  of  rest,  but  now  thy  dying  bed  ! 

The  sheltering  rushes  whistling  o'er  thy  head, 
The  cold  earth  with  thy  bloody  bosom  prest. 


li.jv  EEAEVOLENCE. 

Oft  as  by  winding  Nith,  I,  musing,  wait 

The  sober  eve,  or  hail  tlie  clieerful  dawn, 

I'll  miss  V.\ee  sportmg  o'er  tlae  dewy  lawn, 
Mjid  curse  the  rvjjliaiis  aim,  and  mourn  thy  hapless  fate.'' 

The  individual  who  thus  received  the  malediction  of  Burns  relat- 
ed to  Allan  Cunningham  the  circumstances  from  which  this  poem 
took  its  rise.  "  The  hares,"  he  said,  "often  came  and  nibbled 
our  wheai-braird  ;  and  once,  in  the  gloaming, — it  was  in  April, — 
I  shot  at  one,  and  wounded  her  :  she  ran  bleeding  by  Burns,  who 
was  pacing  up  and  down  by  himself,  not  far  from  me.  He  started, 
and,  with  a  bitter  cuvse,  ordered  me  out  of  his  sight,  or  he  would 
throw  me  instantly  into  the  Nith.  And,  had  I  stayed,  I  '11  warrant 
he  would  have  been  as  good  as  his  word,  though  T  was  both  young 
and  strong."*  The  character  of  Burns  was,  in  fact,  of  a  sort 
which  Phrenology  alone  enables  us  to  explain.  "By  nature  kind, 
brave,  sincere,  and  in  a  singular  degree  compassionate,  he  was,  on 
the  other  hand,"  says  Dr.  Currie,  "proud,  irascible,  and  vindic- 
tive." So  opposite  are  the  elementary  faculties  which  constitute 
the  human  mind  ! 

Benevolence  cannot  be  compensated  by  Adhesiveness  and  Con- 
scientiousness, or  any  other  faculties.  A  daughter,  wife,  or  sister 
who  possesses  large  Benevolence  will,  at  a  sick  bed,  show  an  anx- 
iety to  alleviate  suffering,  a  softness  and  sympathy  of  manner,  and, 
if  Intellect  is  possessed,  a  facility  of  invention  in  devising  means  of 
relief,'  that  will  be  truly  admirable  and  to  the  patient*  invaluable. 
But  if  this  organ  be  deficient,  although  the  attendant  may,  through 
Intellect  and  Conscientiousness,  do  every  thing  that  is  suggested 
by  others,  she  will  neither  feel,  sympathize  with,  nor  assiduously 
labor  to  assuage  the  patient's  pain.  This  observation  applies  to 
every  department  of  life  in  which  Benevolence  can  be  manifested. 
"When  it  is  small,  the  well-spring  of  goodness  flowing  towards 
misery  to  relieve  it  is  wanting. 

Dr.  Gall  refers,  not  only  the  feeling  of  benevolence,  but  the 
sentiment  of  justice,  to  the  faculty  now  under  consideration. 
"  The  reader  will  remember,"  says  he,  "that  I  could  not  discover 
*  Lockhart's  Life  of  Robert  Burn?,  p.  199. 


BENEVOLENCE.  253 

the  functions  of  the  different  organs,  except  when  I  met  with  them 
in  a  state  of  extreme  developement,  and  when,  consequently,  the 
faculties  were  manifested  with  excessive  energy.  A  mental  power, 
in  a  state  of  high  excitement,  sometimes  exhibits  a  character  quite 
different  in  appearance  from  its  ordinary  form  of  manifestation. 
Libertinism  is  the  consequence  of  over  activity  of  Amativeness, 
and  theft  of  Acquisitiveness.  It  is  the  same  with  Benevolence. 
The  individuals  who  had  become  remarkable  on  account  of  uncom- 
mon goodness  of  heart,  presented  an  extreme  developement  of  the 
organ  in  question.  Consequently,  Goodness,  Benevolence,  Sen- 
sibility to  Distress,  are  not  the  primitive  destination,  or  ordinary 
function  of  this  organ;  but  the  manifestation  of  its  exalted  condition. 
Benevolence,  therefore,  is  something  more  than  the  primitive 
function  of  the  organ  from  which  it  proceeds.  What  is  the 
original  sentiment  ?  It  being  extremely  difficult  to  make  positive 
observations  on  the  fundamental  destination  of  an  organ,  I  am 
obliged,"  continues  Dr.  Gall,  "to  resort  to  reasoning;  and  I  think 
there  are  plausible  grounds  for  holding,  that  the  primitive  tendency 
connected  with  this  organ  is  that  which  disposes  man  to  conduct 
suitable  to  the  maintenance  of  social  order  :  I  call  it  the  Moral 
Sense,  the  sentiment  of  Justice  and  Injustice.'''  He  proceeds  with 
a  variety  of  arguments,  and  arrives  at  the  conclusion,  that  Benevo- 
lence --n'est  qu'  un  degre  d'action  plus  eleve  du  sens  moral./'* 

Dr.  Spurzheira  dissents  from  this  view,  and  holds  Conscientious- 
iicss  to  be  a  distinct  sentiment,  of  which  he  has  discovered  and 
established  the  organ;  although  it  was  not  admitted  by  Dr.  Gall. 
There  are  only  two  ways  of  settling  this  dispute;  the  one  by 
metaphysical  analysis  of  the  feeling,  and  the  other  by  observation 
of  the  organ.  The  result  of  both  appears  to  me  to  be  in  favor  of 
Dr.  Spurzheim. — I  shall  revert  to  the  subject  when  treating  of  the 
organ  of  Conscientiousness. 

In  another  point,  also,  in  regard  to  this  organ,  Dr.   Spurzheim 

differs  from  Dr.   Gall,  and   apparently  on  good   grounds.     "An 

opinion  of  Dr.  Gall's,"  says  he,  "of  which  I  cannot  apjorove,  is, 

that  Benevolence  may  degenerate  into  bad  temper,  and  into  the 

"  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau,  tome  v.  p.  273,  et  sequen. 


254  BENEVOLENCE. 

propensity  to  rejoice  in  the  evil  that  happens  to  others,  in  the  same 
way  as  the  sense  of  taste  may  degenerate  into  disgust  at  food, 
physical  love  into  aversion  to  the  other  sex,  and  the  sense  of 
melody  to  aversion  to  music.  The  inactivity  of  Benevolence,  -or 
its  exhausted  state,  may  produce  indifference  to  its  functions,  and 
make  us  avoid  any  opportunity  of  doing  beneficent  actions;  but 
active  wickedness,  and  pleasure  in  the  pains  of  others,  like  cru- 
elty, depend  on  inferior  feelings,  unaccompanied  by  superior  sen- 
timents."* 

This  organ  is  found  in  the  lower  animals,  and  when  it  is  largely 
developed,  they  are  mild  and  docile;  whereas,  when  it  is  deficient, 
they  are  vicious,  ill-natured,  and  intractable.  Dr.  Gall  gives  some 
interesting  illustrations  of  this  fact.  The  head  of  the  tiger,  says 
he,  is  more  flat  at  this  part  than  that  of  the  lion;  and  the  heads  of 
the  hyaena  and  wolf  are  more  depressed  than  that  of  the  dog.  The 
organ  is  greatly  depressed  immediately  above  the  level  of  the  eyes, 
in  the  baboon;  while,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  elevated  in  the  ouran- 
outang;  and  the  dispositions  of  all  these  animals  are  in  accordance 
with  their  developement.  In  the  horse,  the  organ  is  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  forehead,  a  little  above  the  eyes.  When  this  region 
is  hollow  and  narrow,  a  horse  is  invariably  vicious,  and  disposed 
to  bite  and  to  kick.  In  mild  and  good  natured  horses,  on  the 
contraiy,  this  part  stands  as  far  out  as  the  eyes,  or  even  farther. 
The  driver  of  a  cabriolet  of  Neuilly,  says  Dr.  Gall,  bought,  at 
a  low  price,  a  horse  which  nobody  could  use  on  account  of  its 
extreme  bad  temper;  but  it  was  an  excellent  runner.  In  the  first 
week  it  bit  off  two  of  the  driver's  fingers,  and  one  of  his  ears.  He 
attempted  to  correct  it  by  redoubled  blows,  but  these  rendered  it 
only  more  vicious.  He  then  resolved  to  try  the  effect  of  gentle 
treatment,  and  this  succeeded  to  a  certain  degree.  The  organ  in 
question  was  very  small  in  this  animal;  and  the  same  conformation 
will  be  found  in  all  horses  which  require  to  be  muzzled,  to  prevent 
them  from  biting.  On  one  occasion,  a  gentleman  in  the  country 
mentioned  at  his  dinner  table  that  he  had  two  horses,  one  ex- 
tremely mild,  and  the  other  very  vicious,  in  temper.  They  were 
*  Phrenology,  p.  2]  5. 


BENEVOLENCE.  255 

brought  out  into  the  stable-yard,  and  by  examining  their  heads, 
according  to  Dr.  Gall's  directions,  I  pointed  out  each,  without 
having  previously  seen  them.  The  difference  was  so  great,  that 
several  persons  who  were  present  recognised  it,  the  moment  they 
were  told  where  to  look  for  it.  I  have  seen  this  experiment 
repeated  with  invariable  success. 

The  same  rule  holds  in  regard  to  dogs.  Dr.  Gall  saved  two 
puppies  of  a  litter  of  five,  and  watched  their  dispositions  with  the 
closest  attention.  Even  before  their  eyes  were  opened  he  remarked 
a  great  difference  between  them  ;  one  of  them,  when  taken  into 
the  hand,  testified,  by  its  gestures,  that  it  was  pleased  ;  the  other 
growled,  whined,  and  struggled  till  it  was  put  down.  Scarcely 
were  they  fifteen  days  old,  when  one  indicated,  by  the  motions  of 
its  tail,  contentment  and  gentleness,  not  only  towards  other  little 
dogs,  but  to  persons  who  approached  it;  the  other,  on  the  con- 
trary, never  ceased  to  grumble,  and  to  bite  every  one  within  its 
reach.  Aware  how  much  was  attributed  to  education.  Dr.  Gall 
charged  those  who  habitually  approached  these  animals  to  bestow 
equal  caresses  on  each.  He  himself  took  the  greatest  pains  to 
soften  the  disposition  of  the  ill-natured  one,  but  nothing  could 
change  its  character.  It  bit  even  its  mother,  if  she  chanced  to 
incommode  it.  In  the  sixth  month,  the  dogs  were  seized  with 
distemper,  and  with  whatever  degree  of  gentleness  they  were 
treated,  the  one  never  ceased  to  growl  and  bite,  till  death  put  an  end 
to  its  efforts  ;  while  the  other,  on  the  contrary,  till  its  last  moment, 
gave  the  most  striking  marks  of  attachment  and  gratitude  to  those 
who  took  charge  of  it.  Even  the  servants  were  forcibly  struck 
with  the  difference  in  the  dispositions  of  these  animals.  Dr.  Gall 
states,  that  the  difference  in  their  heads  was  equally  conspicuous. 

In  observing  this  organ  in  the  lower  animals,  it  is  necessary  to  be 
acquainted  with  the  osteology  of  their  skulls,  to  be  able  correctly 
to  distinguish  its  place.  In  some  of  them,  the  elephant,  the  sow, 
&c.  the  two  tables  of  the  skull  are  not  parallel  at  this  part,  and 
hence  the  size  of  the  organ  in  them  cannot  be  ascertained,  except 
by  dissection.  In  the  bull  and  cow,  the  inner  table  is  separated  to 
some  distance  from  the  external  table,  but  the  two  tables  are  parallel 


256  BENEVOLENCE. 

in  the  region  of  this  organ,  and  on  this  account  its  size  may  be 
judged  of  during  life.  Tlie  same  is  the  case,  says  Dr.  Gall,  with 
the  cat.* 

"There. are  examples,"  says  Dr.  Spurzheim,  "on  record, 
where  animals  have  shown  high  degrees  of  benevolence  to  others, 
and  even  to  man.  A  respectable  family  in  Paris  told  me,  that  they 
had  a  horse  and  a  cow  living  together  in  the  same  stable  ;  that  the 
horse  several  times  got  untied,  went  to  the  corner  where  the  sack 
of  oats  stood,  and  drew  it  in  his  teeth  near  the  cow  ;  probably  to 
make  her  partake  of  the  good  cheer.  Many  dogs  also  exhibit  the 
same  feeling.  Dupont  de  Nemours  saw  a  swallow  caught  by  one 
foot  in  the  noose  of  a  packthread,  attached  to  the  roof  of  the 
French  Institute  at  Paris.  The  prisoner  screamed,  and  attracted 
all  the  swallows  of  the  neighborhood.  After  a  long  and  tumultuous 
consultation,  a  great  number  formed  a  line,  one  after  another,  darted 
at  the  packthread  with  their  bills,  and  in  half  an  hour  delivered 
the  captive."! 

Some  incidents  of  a  similar  nature  have  happened  in  this  country. 
Dr.  Millar  favored  me  with  the  following  statement:  —  "The 
Reverend  Dr.  Wodrow,  late  of  Stevenston  in  Ayrshire,  when 
clergyman  of  Dunlop,  a  parish  in  the  same  county,  narrates  a 
curious  fact,  concerning  swallows,  in  a  letter  to  his  relative,  Mrs. 
Thomson  of  Edinburgh." — "  At  Dunlop  manse,  says  he,  in  a  \ery 
dry  summer,  one  of  their  nests,  attached  to  the  corner  of  the  parlor 
window,  fell  down,  and  lay  on  the  window-sill,  without  any  damage 
done  either  to  the  nest  or  its  helpless  inhabitants,  four  or  five 
young  ones.  It  was  a  few  minutes  before  breakfast,  when  I 
observed  the  accident ;  and  soon  after  it  happened,  I  went  out  and 
carefully  placed  it  on  the  top  of  a  cut  hedge,  and  I  waited  to  see 
the  event.  It  was  pleasant  to  see  the  young  ones  fed  at  proper 
intervals,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  great  number  of  other  swallows 
jointly  and  busily  employed,  in  a  warm  summer  morning,  in  build- 
ing a  new  nest  in  the  same  place  with  the  former  ;  some  of  them 
bringing  clay,  straws,  &c.  :  others  making  use  of  these  materials  ; 
others  dipping  themselves  into  an  open  well,  and  plashing  the  walls 

*  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau,  tome  v.  p.  327.  t  Phrenology,  p.  213. 


BENEVOLENCE.  257 

of  the  nest,  and  all  of  them  cheering  one  another  to  the  useful  work. 
In  two  hours  the  new  nest  was  completely  finished,  and  then  the 
young  ones  were  carried  through  the  air  under  the  wings  of  one, 
sometimes  two,  old  swallows,  and  safely  placed  in  their  lodging ; 
after  which  the  noise  and  cheering  of  the  troop  ceased."  Dr. 
Poole  also  stated  to  me,  that  a  cat  having  seized  a  young  sparrow, 
a  flock  of  these  birds  perceiving  it,  attacked  the  cat,  fastened  on 
its  back,  pecked  and  flapped  till  they  made  it  let  go  its  hold,  and 
rescued  the  intended  victim.  This  happened  in  a  garden  behind 
St.  John  Street,  Edinburgh,  and  was  witnessed  by  a  neighbor  of 
Dr.  Poole's,  who  communicated  the  circumstance  to  him.  Dogs 
also  are  known  to  precipitate  themselves  into  the  water,  to  save 
persons  in  danger  of  being  drowned  ;  and  they  attack  with  fury 
assassins  who  assail  their  masters. 

I  have  mentioned  before,  that  stimulating  liquors,  by  exciting 
the  organs,  give  energy  to  the  feelings  or  propensities  which  depend 
on  them  for  the  means  of  manifestation.  Some  individuals  become 
excessively  profuse  when  intoxicated.  They  would  then  give  the 
world  away;  or,  if  they  had  the  power,  they  would  create  a  new 
one,  in  which  every  individual  should  enjoy  infinite  happiness.  On 
the  principle,  that  intoxication  can  never  create  any  feeling,  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  such  persons  have  naturally  a  large  endow- 
ment of  Benevolence,  the  organ  of  which  is  stimulated  to  this  great 
activity  by  strong  potations.     This,  however,  is  only  a  conjecture. 

This  organ  is  liable  to  excessive  excitement  by  disease.  Dr. 
Gall  mentions  the  case  of  a  hussar,  who  had  always  manifested 
great  benevolence  of  disposition,  and  subsequently  became  insane. 
He  gave  away  all  his  clothes,  and  left  himself  absolutely  naked  ; 
he  never  ceased  repeating  that  he  wished  to  make  every  one  happy, 
and  he  introduced  into  all  his  projects  of ,  beneficence  the  Holy 
Trinity.  In  his  head  the  organs  of  Benevolence  and  Veneration 
were  extremely  developed.  Idiots  in  whom  this  organ  is  largely 
developed  are  good-natured  and  harmless  ;  while  those  in  whom  it 
is  small,  if  Destructiveness  be  large,  are  mischievous  and  wicked. 
The  Scotch  metaphysicians  in  general  admit  the  existence  of  this 
sentiment,  but  Hobbes,  and  many  other  metaphysical  writers,  who 

oo 
OO 


258 


VENERATION. 


resolve  all  our  actions  into  selfishness,  deny  it.  Dr.  Thomas  Brown 
successfully  and  beautifully  answers  the  objection,  that  we  are  selfish 
even  in  our  feelings  of  good-will.  "  The  analysis  of  Love,"  says 
he,  "  as  a  complex  feeling,  presents  to  us  always  two  elements;  a 
vivid  delight  in  the  contemplation  of  the  object,  and  a  desire  of 
good  to  that  object.  Though  we  cannot,  then,  when  there  is  no 
interfering  passion,  think  of  the  virtues  of  others  without  pleasure, 
and  must  therefore,  in  loving  virtue,  love  what  is  by  its  oion  nature 
pleasing,  the  love  of  the  virtue  which  cannot  exist  without  the 
pleasure,  is  surely  an  afl:ection  very  different  from  the  love  of  the 
mere  pleasure  existing,  if  it  had  been  possible  for  it  to  exist,  ivithout 
the  virtue, — a  pleasure  that  accompanies  the  virtue  only,  as  the  soft 
or  brilliant  coloring  of  nature  flows  from  the  great  orb  above, — 
a  gentle  radiance  that  is  delightful  to  our  eyes,  indeed,  and  to  our 
heart,  but  which  leads  our  eye  upward  to  the  splendid  source  from 
which  it  flows,  and  our  heart  still  higher,  to  that  Being  by  whom 
the  sun  was  made."* 


14. VENERATION. 


This  organ  is  situated  at  the  middle  of  the  coronal  aspect  of  the 
brain,  at  the  bregma  or  fontanel  of  anatomists.  The  figures  repre- 
sent it  large  and  small. 


Skull  in  Dr.  Gall's  Collection. 


Dr.  Hette. 


Veneration  large,  Benevolence 
and  Firmness  deficient. 


Benevolence  and  Firmness  large, 
and  Veneration  deficient. 


Dr.  Gall  gives  the  following  account  of  the  discovery  of  this 
organ.  His  father's  family  consisted  of  ten  children,  who  all 
received  the  same  education,  but  their  talents  and  dispositions  were 

*  Lecture  59. 


i 


VENERATION.  ,  259 

very  dissimilar.  One  of  his  brothers  manifested  from  infancy  a 
strong  tendency  towards  religion.  "  Ses  jouets  etaient  des  vases 
d'eglise  qu'il  sculptoit  luimeme,  des  chasubles  et  des  surplis  qu'il 
faisait  avec  du  papier."  He  was  constantly  engaged  in  prayer, 
and  in  saying  mass,  and  when  obliged  to  be  absent  from  church, 
he  spent  his  time  in  ornamenting  and  gilding  a  crucifix  of  wood. 
His  father  had  intended  Mm  for  a  merchant,  but  he  himself  disliked 
that  occupation,  because,  said  he,  it  exposed  him  to  the  necessity 
of  lying.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  years  he  abandoned  merchan- 
dise ;  and  having  lost  all  hope  of  being  then  able  to  pursue  the 
studies  requisite  for  the  Church,  he  fled  from  his  father's  house 
and  became  a  hermit.  His  father  then  allowed  him  to  study  ;  at 
the  end  of  five  years  he  took  orders,  and  continued,  till  the  period 
of  his  death,  to  live  in  the  exercise  of  devotion  and  the  practice 
of  penance. 

Pr.  Gall  farther  remarked,  that,  in  schools,  some  of  the  children 
took  no  interest  in  religious  instruction,  whilst  others  received  it 
with  avidity:  also,  that  those  individuals  in  the  classes,  who  vol- 
untarily devoted  themselves  to  the  Church,  were  either  studious, 
pious,  virtuous,  and  honorable  young  men,  or  idlers  of  the  worst 
description,  indolent,  and  totally  destitute  of  talent.  The  latter, 
he  observes,  obviously  had  no  other  aim  than  that  of  living  at  the 
expense  of  their  fellow  citizens  ;  while  the  former  felt  a  lively 
interest  in  the  vocation  to  which  they  aspired.  This  commendable 
feeling  sprung  up  in  them,  says  he,  nobody  knew  how,  and  it 
certainly  was  not  attributable  to  example  or  education,  or  the  cir- 
cum,stances  in  which  they  had  been  placed  ;  for  many  of  them  had 
embraced  the  profession  of  the  Church,  even  contrary  to  the  inten- 
tion of  their  parents  and  guardians.  These  facts  convinced  him 
that  the  disposition  to  religion  is  innate. 

At  a  later  period,  no  sooner  had  he  fixed  his  attention  on  some 
of  the  primitive  qualities  of  mind,  than  he'  recollected  these  obser- 
vations made  in  his  youth,  and  immediately  examined  the  heads  of 
persons  eminent  for  devotion.  He  visited  the  churches  of  every 
sect,  and  particularly  observed  the  heads  of  individuals  who  prayed 
with  the  greatest  fervor,  or  who  were  the  most  completely  absorbed 


260  VENERATION. 

in  their  religious  conleinplations.  The  result  was  the  establish- 
ment of  the  part  of  the  brain  in  question  as  the  organ  of  Vener- 
ation. 

Catholic  countries  afford  particularly  favorable  opportunities  for 
such  observations.  Dr.  Bright,  a  traveller  in  Lower  Hungary, 
inforftis  us,  that,  in  Vienna,  "  The  churches  are  almost  constantly 
open,  and  enter  them  when  you  will,  servants,  who  have  been  sent 
on  errands,  are  seen  kneeling  before  the  altars  or  the  images,  with 
their  baskets  or  parcels  by  their  sides.  Thus  prayer,  by  its  fre- 
quency, becomes  a  habit  and  recreation,  rather  than  the  perform- 
ance of  a  duty  ;  and  I  have  often  been  truly  astonished  to  observe, 
in  the  coldest  weather,  little  children,  when  far  from  the  restraints 
of  their  parents,  fall  down  upon  their  knees  before  the  images 
which  adorn  many  of  the  corners  of  the  streets  and  passages  in 
Vienna,  and  there  remain  fixed  for  several  minutes,  as  in  serious 
devotion."*  I  have  observed  similar  facts  in  Catholic  cities  on 
the  Continent. 

The  function  of  the  faculty  is  to  produce  the  sentiment  of  Ven- 
eration in  general  ;  or  an  emotion  of  profound  and  reverential 
respect,  on  perceiving  an  object  at  once  great  and  good.  It  is  the 
source  of  natural  religion,  and  of  that  tendency  to  worship  a  supe- 
rior power,  which  manifests  itself  in  every  nation  yet  discovered. 
The  faculty,  however,  produces  merely  an  emotion,  and  does  not 
form  ideas  of  the  object  to  wdiich  it  ought  to  be  directed  ;  and 
hence,  if  no  revelation  have  reached  the  individual,  and  if  the 
understanding  be  extremely  limited,  the  unfortunate  being  may 
worship  the  genius  of  the  storm  ;  the  sun,  as  the  source  of  light, 
heat,  and  vegetable  life  ;  or,  if  more  debased  in  intellect,  he  may 
worship  brutes,  and  stocks,  and  stones; 

"  Lo  !  the   poor  Indian,  whose  untutored  mind, 
Sees  God  in  clouds,  or  hears  him  in  the  wind." 

The  organ  is  large  in  Negroes,  and  also  in  Mary  Macinnes,  who 
was  extremely  prone  to  superstition. 

It  has  been  objected,  that,  if  an  organ  and  faculty  of  Veneration 
exists,  revelation  was  unnecessary.  But  Dr.  Gall  has  well  answer- 
*  Pages  43,  44. 


VENERATION.  261 

ed,  that  the  proposition  ought  to  be  exactly  reversed,  for  unless  a 
natural  capacity  of  feeling  religious  emotion  had  been  previously 
bestowed,  revelation  would  have  been  as  unavailing  to  man  as  it 
would  be  to  the  lower  animals  ;  while,  if  a  mere  general  feeling  of 
devotion,  or  an  instinctive  but  blind  tendency  to  worship,  which 
Veneration  truly  is,  was  given,  nothing  was  more  reasonable  than 
to  add  instruction  how  it  ought  to  be  directed.  Dr.  Gall  observes, 
farther,  that  the  existence  of  the  organ  is  an  indirect  proof  of  the 
existence  of  God.  Destructiveness  is  implanted  in  the  mind,  and 
animals  exist  around  us  to  be  killed  for  our  nourishment :  Adhe- 
siveness and  Philoprogenitiveness  are  given,  and  friends  and  chil- 
dren are  provided  as  objects  on  whom  they  may  be  exercised: 
Benevolence  is  conferred  on  us,  and  the  poor  and  unhappy,  on 
whom  it  may  shed  its  soft  influence,  are  everywhere  present  with 
us;  in  like  manner,  the  instinctive  tendency  to  worship  is  implanted 
in  the  mind,  and,  conformably  to  these  analogies  of  nature,  we  may 
reasonably  infer  that  a  God  exists  whom  we  may  adore. 

The  organ  is  possessed  by  all  men,  but  in  different  degrees  by 
different  persons  :  and,  on  the  principle,  that  the  natural  power  of 
experiencing  an  emotion  bears  a  proportion  to  the  size  of  its  organ, 
every  sane  individual  will  be  naturally  capable  of  joining  in  religious 
worship ;  but  the  glow  of  devotional  feeling  experienced  by  each, 
will  be  greater  or  less  in  intensity,  according  to  the  developement 
of  this  part  of  his  brain.  The  difference  in  the  feeling  is  certain, 
independently  of  Phrenology,  so  that  this  science  only  reveals  the 
relation  between  its  intensity  and  the  size  of  the  organ. 

The  organ  is  large  in  King  Robert  Bruce,  who,  it  is  mentioned 
in  History,  was  strongly  alive  to  religious  feelings,  and  ordered 
his  heart  to  be  carried  to  the  Holy  Land,  because  he  had  not  been 
able  to  fulfil  a  vow  to  visit  it  in  person.  It  is  large  also  in  Raphael, 
and  the  subjects  which  chiefly  occupied  his  pencil  were  connected 
with  devotion  and  the  Church. 

Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that,  in  the  portraits  of  Saints  remarkable 
for  devotional  feeling,  this  organ  is  represented  as  large,  and  that 
the  same  configuration  of  head  has  been  given  by  the  ancient  artists 
to  their  High  Priests.     It  is  large  in  the  portraits  of  Constantine, 


262  VENERATION. 

Marcus  Aurelius,  St.  Ambrose,  Charles  I.  of  England,  and  Male- 
branche.  It  is  also  greatly  developed  in  philosophers  and  poets 
who  are  distinguished  for  piety,  as  in  Newton,  Milton,  and  Klop- 
stock;  while  it  is  flat  in  the  head  of  Spinosa,  who  professed  atheism. 
The  same  configuration  is  found  in  the  heads  of  Christ,  represented 
by  Raphael.  In  these,  the  parts  behind  the  ear,  or  the  organs 
common  to  man  and  the  lower  animals,  are  small ;  whereas  the 
organs,  situated  in  the  forehead  and  in  the  coronal  region,  connect- 
ed with  intellect  and  the  moral  sentiments,  are  very  large.  This 
organization  indicates  great  intellectual  penetration,  with  exalted 
Benevolence  and  Veneration.  Dr.  Gall  puts  the  question,  Has 
this  divine  form  of  head  been  invented,  or  may  we  presume  that  it 
is  a  faithful  copy  of  the  original  ?  It  is  possible,  says  he,  that  the 
artists  may  have  imitated  the  heads  of  the  most  virtuous,  just,  and 
benevolent  men  whom  they  could  find,  and  thence  drawn  the  char- 
acter of  the  head  of  Christ.  In  this  case,  the  observation  of  the 
artists  coincides  with  that  of  Dr.  Gall,  —  a  circumstance  which 
either  supposes  a  kind  of  presentiment  of  Organology  on  their  part, 
or  an  accuracy  of  observation  scarcely  admissible.  He  considers 
it  more  probable,  that  the  general  type,  at  least,  of  the  head  of 
Christ  has  been  transmitted  to  us.  St.  Luke  was  a  painter,  and 
how  should  he  fail  to  preserve  the  features  of  his  Master  ?'  It  is 
certain  that  this  form  of  the  head  of  Christ  is  of  a  very  high  anti- 
quity. It  is  found  in  the  most  ancient  pictures  and  specimens 
of  mosaic  work.  The  Gnostics  of  the  second  century  possessed 
images  of  Christ  and  of  St.  Paul ;  hence  Dr.  Gall  concludes,  that 
neither  Raphael  nor  any  other  artist  has  invented  this  admirable 
configuration.* 

The  metaphysicians  in  general  do  not  admit  Veneration  as  an 
original  emotion;  they  trace  the  belief  in  God  to  the  perceptions 
of  the  understanding.  We  perceive  order,  beauty,  power,  wisdom, 
harmony,  in  the  works  of  Creation,  and  infer  from  these  qualities 
that  a  supreme  creating  and  directing  Mind  exists.     In  this  view 

*  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau,  tome  v.  p.  389.  See  also  a  Brief  Notice  of 
some  Ancient  Coins  and  Medals,  as  illustrating  the  Progress  of  Christianity,  by 
the  Rev.  R.  Walsh,  LL.  D.  Chaplain  to  the  Embassy  at  Constantinople. 


VENERATIO]>J.  263 

the  phrenologists  concui* :  the  understanding,  however,  only  per- 
ceives facts  and  drav\rs  inferences,  but  does  not  feel  emotions;  and, 
therefore,  after  this  deduction  was  completed,  it  would  experience 
no  tendency  to  adore  the  God  whom  it  had  discovered.  Now,  in 
point  of  fact,  the  tendency  to  worship  is  a  stronger  principle  than 
the  understanding  itself;  for  the  most  ignorant  and  stupid  are  prone 
to  venerate,  while  their  intellects  are  incapable  of  directing  them 
to  an  object  worthy  of  their  homage.  Under  the  influence  of  a 
blind  Veneration,  men  cut  branches  from  trees,  and  fall  down  and 
worship  them ;  or  they  adore  monsters  and  reptiles  as  deities, — 
facts  which  were  utterly  inexplicable,  till  Phrenology  pointed  out 
an  instinctive  tendency  to  venerate,  altogether  apart  from  under- 
standing. This  tendency  is  produced  by  the  faculty  in  question, 
and  it  is  a  great  omission  of  the  old  philosophers,  that  no  such 
power  is  to  be  found  in  their  systems. 

Hitherto  we  have  considered  Veneration  only  when  directed 
to  rehgion,  which  is  undoubtedly  its  noblest  end  ;  but  it  has  also 
many  other  objects,  and  a  wide  sphere  of  activity,  in  the  pre- 
sent world.  It  produces  the  feeling  of  deference  and  respect  in 
general ;  and  hence  may  be  directed  to  every  object  that  seems 
worthy  of  such  regard.  In  children,  it  is  a  chief  ingredient  in 
filial  piety,  and  produces  that  soft  and  almost  holy  reverence  with 
which  a  child  looks  up  to  his  parent  as  the  author  of  his  days,  the 
protector  of  his  infancy,  and  the  guide  of  his  youth.  A  child  in 
whom  this  organ  is  small,  may,  if  Benevolence  and  Adhesiveness 
be  large,  entertain  great  affection  for  his  parent  as  a  friend;  but, 
in  his  habitual  intercourse,  there  will  be  little  of  that  deferential 
respect  which  is  the  grand  feature  of  the  mind,  when  the  organ  is 
large.  Children  who  are  prone  to  rebeUion,  little  attentive  to 
command,  and  regardless  of  authority,  will  generally  be  found  to 
aave  Self-Esteem  large,  and  this  organ  proportionally  deficient. 

Veneration  leads  to  deference  for  superiors  in  rank  as  well  as  in 
years;  and  prompts  to  the  reverence  of  authority.  This  organ  is 
generally  largely  developed  in  the  Asiatic  head,  and  the  tendency 
to  obedience  is  strong  in  the  people  of  that  quarter  of  the  globe. 
Indeed,  the  hereditary  slavery  which  has  descended  among  them 


264  VENERATION. 

through  so  many  generations,  may  be  connected  with  the  preva- 
lence of  this  disposition. 

A  lady  who  is  in  the  habit  of  examining  the  heads  of  servants 
before  hiring  them,  told  me,  that  she  has  found,  by  experience, 
that  those  in  whom  Veneration  is  large,  are  the  most  deferential 
and  obedient;  and  that  one  with  large  Combativeness  and  Destruc- 
tiveness,  and  small  Veneration,  became  angry  and  abusive,  when 
her  conduct  was  censured.  This  occurred,  even  although  Love 
of  Approbation  and  Conscientiousness  were,  both  lai'ge;  but  the 
passion  speedily  subsided,  and  was  followed  by  self-reproach  and 
repentance.  If  Veneration  also  had  been  large,  it  would  have 
produced  that  instinctive  feeling  of  respect,  which  would  have 
operated  as  instantaneously  as  Combativeness  and  Destructiveness, 
and  restrained  the  ebullitions. 

Veneration  may  also  produce  respect  for  titles,  rank  and  power; 
for  a  long  line  of  ancestry,  or  mere  wealth;  and  it  frequently 
manifests  itself  in  one  or  other  of  these  forms,  when  it  does  not 
appear  in  religious  fervor.  Individuals  in  whom  Love  of  Appro- 
bation and  Veneration  are  very  large,  and  Conscientiousness  and 
intellect  not  in  proportion,  venerate  persons  of  higher  rank  than 
their  own,  and  are  fond  of  their  society.  Persons  of  rank,  who  do 
not  possess  high  virtues  or  talents,  are  fondest  of  the  society  of 
those  in  whom  this  combination  occurs.  It  inspires  its  possessor 
with  an  habitual  deference  towards  them,  which  is  felt  as  a  con- 
stant homage.  On  occasion  of  King  George  the  Fourth's  visit  to 
Scotland  in  1822,  some  individuals  experienced  the  profoundest 
emotion  of  awe  and  respect  on  beholding  him;  while  others  were 
not  conscious  of  any  similar  excitement,  but  were  surprised  at  what 
appeared  to  them  to  be  the  exaggerated  enthusiasm  of  the  first.  I 
examined  the  heads  of  several  of  both  classes,  and,  in  the  former, 
found  the  organ  of  Veneration  uniformly  lai'ger,  in  proportion  to  the 
other  organs,  than  in  the  latter. 

This  faculty  is  likewise  the  source  of  the  profound  awe  which 
some  persons  feel  in  visiting  ancient  temples,  gothic  cathedrals,  and 
places  of  sepulture  for  the  illustrious  dead.  It  gives  reverence  for 
church-yards,  and  other  burial-places  of  our  ancestors.     A  person 


VENERATION.  265 

in  whom  it  is  small  experiences  a  feeble  influence,  even  from 
Westminster  Abbey  and  the  monuments  of  departed  genius  therl|»f 
preserved.  This  sentiment  is  one  ingredient  in  the  tendency  to 
antiquarianism,  and  the  love  of  old  coins. 

Veneration,  like  other  powers,  is  hable  to  abuse.  When  not 
subjected  to  the  guidance  of  Reflection  and  Conscientiousness,  it 
produces  a  bigoted  respect  for  old  customs  and  absurd  institutions, 
if  only  sanctified  by  time  ;  and  a  blind  tendency  to  admire  the 
wisdom  of  our  ancestors,  beyond  its  real  worth.  It  gives  rever- 
ence for  great  names  and  authorities  in  religion  and  philosophy, 
and  thus  often  presents  a  strong  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  truth. 
In  case  any  subsequent  disciple  of  Phrenology  should  hereafter 
misdirect  his  Veneration  to  the  early  converts  to  the  science,  and 
suppose  us  possessed  of  superior  wisdom  and  information,  because 
we  lived  in  the  age  of  Dr.  Gall  and  held  friendly  converse  with 
Dr.  Spurzheirn,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  observe  that  such  notions 
will  be  extremely  unfounded  —  we  perceive  that  knowledge  has 
only  dawned  on  us,  and  that  the  duty  will  remain  to  our  successors 
to  improve  Phrenology  through  many  generations.  This  kind  of 
Veneration  maintains  every  unenlightened  devotee  in  a  state  of 
bigoted  subjection  to  his  priests  :  an  emotion  of  profound  and 
sanctified  respect  springs  up  in  his  mind  on  contemplating  the  doc- 
trines which  they  have  instilled  into  him  in  his  youth,  and  every 
suggestion  of  the  understanding,  in  opposition  to  this  feeling,  is 
expelled  as  profane.  In  short.  Veneration,  when  vigorous  and 
blind,  produces  complete  prostration  of  the  will  and  the  intellect 
to  the  object  to  whom  it  is  directed,  and,  even  in  our  own  country, 
it  frequently  holds  back  the  march  of  improvement.  The  Holy 
Allies  were  bent  upon  cultivating  this  sentiment  to  the  highest 
possible  degree  in  their  subjects,  and  prostrating  reason ;  they 
encouraged  monks,  processions,  and  superstitious  observances, 
while  they  banished  philosophers  and  excluded  works  of  science. 
If  it  had  been  possible  to  succeed,  these  Sovereigns  would  have 
rendered  their  people  blind  worshippers  of  their  own  power,  and 
trained  them  to  bow  in  humble  subserviency  to  their  will.  The 
Spaniards  are  a  noble  people,  but,  while  their  intellects  have  been 
34 


266  VENERATION. 

shackled  for  many  centuries,  Veneration  has  been  cultivated  to  an 
extravagant  height,  and  misdirected,  in  consequence  of  which  they 
have  fallen  into  a  benighted  and  superstitious  condition. 

This  faculty,  when  unenlightened,  produces  every  kind  of 
superstition,  as  worshipping  beasts,  and  stocks  and  stones.  The 
Negroes,  Indians,  and  even  the  Hindoos,  have^a  poor  intellectual 
developement,  compared  with  Europeans,  and  their  superstitions 
^re  more  gross.  Socrates  did  not  participate  in  the  absurd  super- 
stitions of  Greece,  and  in  the  ancient  busts  of  him,  he  is  repre- 
sented with  a  splendid  forehead.* 

Defect  of  Veneration  does  not  produce  profanity,  but  only 
indifference  to  religious  sentiments,  and  little  reverence  for  power 
and  ancestry.  I  have  found  Veneration  large  in  the  head  of  the 
genuine  Tory, — in  him  who  really  delights  in  contemplating  kings 
and  nobles,  and  regards  them  as  invested  with  a  degree  of  sanctity 
by  a  long  line  of  descent,  and  the  possession  of  hereditary  authority. 
In  the  genuine  Whig  or  republican,  who  sees  in  kings  and  nobles 
only  men  liable  to  all  the  frailties  of  human  nature,  and  requiring 
checks  to  prevent  them  from  abusing  power,  Veneration  is  gener- 
ally smaller,  in  proportion  to  their  intellectual  endowment.  When 
Veneration,  Self-Esteem,  Conscientiousness,  and  Intellect,  are  all 
well  developed,  the  individuals  are  moderate  whigs  or  moderate 
tories,  and  readily  approximate  in  their  sentiments.  They  ought 
to  exercise  mutual  forbearance  ;  their  different  feelings  being  the 
result  of  different  natural  constitutions.  These  observations  are 
limited  to  genuine  tories  and  genuine  whigs,  for  a  man  may  pro- 
fess tofyism  through  love  of  place,  and  whiggery  through  mere 
factiousness,  and  in  such  cases  other  organs  will  predominate. 

As  nature  has  implanted  the  organ  of  Veneration  in  the  brain, 
and  the  correspofading  sentiment  in  the  mind,  it  is  a  groundless 
terror  to  apprehend  that  religion  can  ever  be  extinguished,  or  even 
endangered,  by  the  arguments  or  ridicule  of  the  profane.  Forms 
of  worship  may  change,  and  particular  religious  tenets  may  now  be 
fashionable,  and  subsequently  fall  into  decay  ;  but  while  the  human 
heart  continues  to  beat,  awe  and  veneration  for  the  Divine  Being 
*  A  copy  of  his  bust  will  be  found  in  the  Phrenological  Hall. 


VENERATION.  267 

will  ever  animate  the  soul ;  the  worshipper  will  cease  to  kneel, 
and  the  hymn  of  adoration  to  rise,  only  when  the  race  of  man 
becomes  extinct. 

The  natural  language  of  this  faculty  carries  the  head  upwards  in 
the  direction  of  the  organ.  The  voice  is  soft,  subdued,  reposing, 
and  adoring.  The  greatest  difference  is  perceptible  in  the  tones 
and  manner  of  prayer  of  clergymen  in  whom  the  organ  is  large, 
compared  with  those  in  whom  it  is  small  ;  there  is  a  soft  breathing 
fervor  of  devotion  in  the  former,  and  a  cold  reasoning  formahty  in 
the  latter.  I  have  found  the  organ  uniformly  large  in  clergymen 
who  selected  the  Church  from  natural  liking,  and  not  merely  as  a 
means  of  subsistence. 

The  organ  is  generally  larger  in  the  female  head  than  in  the 
male  ;  and  women  are  more  prone  to  devotion. 

Dr.  Gall  treats  of  this  sentiment  as  producing  religious  feeling 
alone  ;  and  to  Dr.  Spurzheim  is  due  the  merit  of  analyzing  it,  and 
treating  it  as  the  source  of  the  emotion  of  reverence  and  respect  in 
general. 

Nothing  is  more  common  in  the  hospitals  for  the  insane,  says 
Pinel,  than  cases  of  alienation,  produced  by  devotional  feelings 
excessively  exalted  ;  by  conscientious  scruples  carried  to  prejudi- 
cial excess,  or  by  religious  terror.  As  this  kind  of  insanity,  says 
Dr.  Gall,  is  often  present  without  derangement  of  the  other  faculties, 
physicians  ought  to  have  inferred  that  it  is  connected  with  disease 
of  a  particular  part  of  the  brain.  He  and  Dr.  Spurzheim  saw,  in 
the  hospital  of  Amsterdam,  a  patient  who  was  tormented  with  the 
idea  that  he  was  compelled  to  sin,  and  that  he  could  not  possibly 
be  saved.  In  him  the  organ  of  Veneration  was  very  largely  devel- 
oped. In  a  priest,  who  despaired  of  salvation,  and  in  another 
patient,  who  had  the  confirmed  idea  that  he  was  condemned  to 
eternal  punishment,  the  organ  was  also  very  large.  A  woman 
named  Elizabeth  Lindemann,  was  brought  to  Dr.  Gall.  At  the 
first  glance  he  perceived  that  she  possessed  this  organ  in  an  extra- 
ordmary  degree  ;  she  continued  standing  before  him,  lifting  her 
eyes  from  time  to  time  to  Heaven,  and  indicating,  by  all  her 
gestures,  sadness  and    anguish.     From  her  youth,  she  had  been 


268  FIRMNESS. 

excessively  addicted  to  prayer.  For  some  time  previous  to  the 
interview  with  Dr.  Gall,  she  "had  been  subject  to  convulsions,  and 
maintained  that  she  was  possessed;  the  devil,  she  said,  entered  into 
her  heart  by  her  mouth,  and  made  efforts  to  carry  her  to  hell. " 
Dr.  Gall  mentions  also,  that  he  had  seen,  in  the  collection  of  M, 
Esquirol,  casts  of  the  heads  of  three  persons  subject  to  religious 
insanity.  In  all  the  three  the  organ  of  Veneration  was  largely 
developed.  If,  says  Gall,  M.  Esquirol  continues  for  some  time  to 
mould  the  heads  of  the  insane  and  to  preserve  their  skulls,  he  will 
not  fail  to  become  one  of  the  most  zealous  and  enlightened  disci- 
ples of  Organology.  Esquirol  very  justly  remarks  on  this  subject, 
that  although  a  particular  sermon  has  often  been  blamed  for  pro- 
ducing this  species  of  insanity,  yet  it  would  not  have  had  that  effect, 
unless  there  had  been  a  predisposition  to  the  disease,  probably  a 
pre-existence  of  it,  in  the  individual.  In  Dublin,  I  saw  patients 
insane  from  Veneration. 
The  organ  is  established. 


15. FIRMNESS. 

This  organ  is  situated  at  the  posterior  part  of  the  coronal  region 
of  the  head,  close  upon  the  middle  line. 

Dr.  Gall  observed,  that  persons  of  a  firm  and  constant  character 
have  this  part  of  the  brain  much  developed ;  and  Lavater  had 
previously  distinguished  the  same  configiu'ation,  in  concomitance 
with  that,  kind  of  disposition.  It  is  difficult  to  determine,  by  analy- 
sis, the  ultimate  principle  of  this  faculty.  Dr.  Gall  remarks,  that, 
properly  speaking.  Firmness  is  neither  an  inclination  nor  a  faculty ; 
"  c'est  une  maniere  d^etre  qui  donne  a  rhomme  une  empreinte 
particuliere  que  lo'n  appelle  le  caractere;  he  who  is  deficient 
in  it,"  says  he,  "is  the  sport  of  external  circumstances,  and  of 
communicated  impressions."  Its  effects,  says  Dr.  Spurzheim,  are 
mistaken  for  Will ;  because  those  in  whom  it  is  large,  are  prone  to 
use  the  phrase  "I  will,"  with  great  emphasis,  which  is  the  natural 
language  of  determination;  but  this  feeling  is  different  from  proper 
volition.     It  gives  fortitude,  constancy,  perseverance,  determina- 


FIRMNESS.  269 

lion,  and,  when  too  energetic,  produces  obstinacy,  stubbornness, 
and  infatuation.  It  will  be  found  very  lai'ge  in  stubborn  and  un- 
tractable  children. 

The  organs  of  Self-Esteem,  Concentrativeness,  and  Firmness, 
form  a  group  which  has  no  relation  to  external  objects;  their  influ- 
ence terminates  on  the  mind  itself;  and  they  add  only  a  quality  to 
the  manifestations  of  the  other  powers:  thus  Firmness,  acting  along 
with  Combativeness,  produces  determined  bravery;  with  Vene- 
ration, sustained  devotion;  and  with  Conscientiousness,  inflexible 
integrity.  It  gives  perseverance,  however,  in  acting  only  on  the 
other  faculties  which  are  possessed  in  an  available  degrep.  An 
individual  having  much  Firmness  and  considerable  Tune,  may  per- 
severe in  making  music; — if  Tune  were  greatly  deficient,  he  would 
not  be  disposed  to  persevere  in  that  attempt;  but  if  he  possessed 
much  Causality,  he  might  persevere  in  abstract  study.  At  the 
same  time  Dr.  Gall  justly  remarks,  that  Firmness  of  character 
ought  not  to  be  confounded  with  perseverance  in  gratification  of 
the  predominating  dispositions  of  the  mind.  Thus  an  individual, 
in  whom  Acquisitiveness  is  the  strongest  propensity,  may,  although 
Firmness  be  deficient,  exhibit  unceasing  efforts  to  become  rich, 
but  he  will  be  vacillating  and  unsteady  in  the  means  which  he  will 
employ; — he  will  to-day  be  captivated  by  one  project;  to-morrow 
by  another;  and  the  next  day  by  a  third;  whereas,  with  Firmness 
large,  he  would  adopt  the  plan  which  appeared  to  him  most  pro- 
mising, and  steadily  pursue  it  to  the  end. 

When  this  organ  predominates,  it  gives  a  peculiar  hardness  to 
the  manner,  a  stiffness  and  uprightness  to  the  gait,  with  a  forcible 
and  emphatic  tone  to  the  voice. 

A  due  degree  of  it  is  essential  to  the  attainment  of  eminence  in 
any  difficult  pursuit.  Dr.  Gall  observes,  that,  when  it  is  large,  the 
motto  of  the  individual  will  be,  "  Tu  ne  cede  malis,  sed  contra 
audacior  ito."  It  produces  the  '•Henax  propositi  vir."  The 
organ  is  larger  in  the  British  than  in  the  French,  and  the  latter 
are  astonished  at  the  determined  perseverance  of  the  former,  in 
the  prosecution  of  their  designs,  whether  these  relate  to  the  arts, 
sciences,  or  war.    Napoleon  knew  well  the  weakness  of  the  French 


270  FIRMNESS. 

character  in  this  point,  and,  in  his  conversations,  recorded  by  Count 
Las  Cases,  frequently  complains  of  it.  In  war,  the  effects  of  this 
organ  are  very  conspicuous  in  the  conduct  of  the  two  nations. 
The  French,  under  the  influence  of  a  large  Combativeness,  and 
moderate  Cautiousness,  make  the  most  lively  and  spirited  attacks, 
shouting  and  cheering  as  they  advance  to  the  charge  ;  but  if  steadily 
resisted,  their  ardor  abates  ;  and,  from  deficiency  in  Firmness, 
they  yield  readily  to  adversity.  The  British,  on  the  other  hand, 
advance  to  the  assault  with  cool  determination,  arising  from  great 
Firmness,  and  considerable  Cautiousness  and  Secretiveness  ;  and 
although  repulsed,  they  are  not  discomfited,  but  preserve  presence 
of  mind  to  execute  whatever  may  appear  most  advisable  in  the 
circumstances  which  have  occurred. 

This  faculty  contributes  greatly  to  success  in  any  enterprise, 
by  communicating  the  quality  of  perseverance.  Exhaustion  will 
damp  the  ardor  of  the  bravest  after  much  exertion,  and  hence  he 
who  is  able  to  maintain  his  faculties  in  a  state  of  vivid  application 
for  the  greatest  length  of  time,  will  at  last  frequently  succeed,  by 
merely  wearying  out  his  opponent.  Fortitude  and  patience,  also, 
as  distinguished  from  active  courage,  result  from  this  faculty.  The 
organ  is  large  in  the  American  Indians,  and  their  powers  of  endur- 
ance appear  almost  incredible  to  Europeans.  Dr.  Gall  found  it 
very  large  In  a  highwayman,  who  was  exceedingly  hardened  in 
crime.  He  was  kept  in  close  confinement  for  a  considerable  time, 
with  the  view  of  forcing  him  to  disclose  his  accomplices  ;  but 
this  had  no  effect,  and  he  was  then  put  to  the  torture  by  beating. 
Finding  this  infliction  intolerable,  he  strangled  himself  with  his 
chain.  After  his  death,  the  parietal  bones  were  found  separated 
precisely  at  the  point  where  the  organ  of  Firmness  is  situated.  Dr. 
Gall  could  not  determine  whether  the  separation  arose  from  the 
violent  strangulation,  the  excessive  energy  of  the  organ,  or  from 
accident ;  but  records  the  fact,  to  call  attention  to  similar  cases, 
should  they  occur  in  future.  This  organ,  and  that  of  Destructive- 
ness,  are  very  large  also  in  John  Thurtell,  executed  for  the  murder 
of  Weare,  and  he  manifested  both  powerfully  in  his  conduct.  The 
organ  is  also  very  large  in  King  Robert  Bruce ;  and  he  was  dis- 


CONSCIENTIOUSNESS.  271 

tinguished  for  unshaken  firmness,  in  circumstances  in  which  an 
ordinary  mind  would  have  been  overwhelmed  by  despair.  It  is 
large  in  Haggart,  who  also  manifested  determination  in  crime  and 
constancy  in  suffering,  in  a  remarkable  degree. 

When  the  organ  is  small,  the  individual  is  prone  to  yield  to 
the  impulses  of  his  predominating  feelings.  When  Benevolence 
assumes  the  sway,  he  is  all  kindness  ;  when  Combativeness  and 
.  Destructiveness  are  excited,  he  will  be  passionate,  outrageous,  and 
violent :  and  thus  afford  a  spectacle  of  habitual  weakness  and  incon- 
sistency. If  Love  of  Approbation  and  Benevolence  be  large,  and 
Firmness  small,  solicitations  will,  with  great  difficulty,  be  resisted. 
The  organ  is  very  small  in  the  cast  of  Mrs.  H.,  and  she  manifested 
much  unsteadiness  of  purpose. 

The  figures  introduced  on  p.  281,  represent  this  organ  large  and 
small. 

I  am  not  aware  that  the  metaphysicians  admit  any  faculty  cor- 
responding to  this  sentiment.  It  exercises  a  great  influence  in 
forming  the  character,  and  its  omission  is  very  important  in  any 
system  of  mental  philosophy. 

The  effects  of  disease  of  the  organ  seem  not  to  have  been 
observed.  We  may  infer,  that  they  will  be  the  exaltation  of  the 
function,  namely,  extreme  stubbornness  and  infatuation. 

This  organ  is  regarded  as  established. 

16. CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 

This  organ  is  situated  on  the  posterior  and  lateral  parts  of  the 
coronal  region  of  the  brain,  upwards  from  Cautiousness,  and  back- 
vvards  from  Hope.  In  Dr.  Gall's  Plates,  the  function  is  marked 
IS  unascertained,  and  the  discovery  and  establishment  of  the  organ 
are  due  to  Dr.  Spurzheim. 

The  dispute  among  philosophers  about  the  existence  of  a  moral 
faculty  in  the  human  mind,  is  of  very  ancient  standing,  and  it  has 
been  conducted  with  great  eagerness  since  the  publication  of  the 
writings  of  Hobbes  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
This  author  taught,   "that  we  approve  of  virtuous  actions,  or  of 


272  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 

actions  beneficial  to  society,  from  self-love ;  because  we  know, 
that  whatever  promotes  the  interest  of  society,  has,  on  that  very 
account,  an  indirect  tendency  to  promote  our  own."  He  farther 
taught,  that,  "as  it  is  to  the  institution  of  government  we  are 
indebted  for  all  the  comforts  and  confidence  of  social  life,  the 
laws  which  the  civil  magistrate  enjoins  are  the  ultimate  standards 
of  morality."* 

Cudworth,  in  opposition  to  Hobbes,  endeavored  to  show  that  the 
origin  of  our  notions  of  right  and  wrong  is  to  be  found  in  a  par- 
ticular power  of  the  mind,  which  distinguishes  truth  from  falsehood. 

Mandeville,  who  published  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  century, 
maintained,  as  his  theory  of  morals,  That  by  nature  man  is  utterly 
selfish;  that  among  other  desires  which  he  likes  to  gratify,  he  has 
received  a  strong  appetite  for  praise ;  that  the  founders  of  society, 
availing  themselves  of  this  propensity,  instituted  the  custom  of 
dealing  out  a  certain  measure  of  applause  for  each  sacrifice  made 
by  selfishness  to  the  public  good,  and  called  the  sacrifice  Virtue. 
"Men  ai-e  led,  accordingly,  to  purchase  this  praise  by  a  fair 
barter;"  and  "the  moral  virtues,"  to  use  Mandeville 's  strong 
expression,  are,  "  the  political  offspring  which  ff,attery  begot 
uponprirfe."  And  hence,  when  we  see  virtue,  we  see  only  the 
indulgence  of  some  selfish  feeling,  or  the  compromise  for  this 
indulgence,  in  expectation  of  some  praise,  "f 

Dr.  Clarke,  on  the  other  hand,  supposes  virtue  "  to  consist 
in  the  regulation  of  our  conduct,  according  to  certain  fitnesses 
which  we  perceive  in  things,  or  a  peculiar  congruity  of  certain 
relations  to  each  other  ;"  and  Wollaston,  whose  views  are  essen- 
tially the  same,  "  supposes  virtue  to  consist  in  acting  according  to 
the  truth  of  things,  in  treating  objects  according  to  their  real 
character,  and  not  according  to  a  character  or  properties  which 
they  truly  have  not."| 

Mr.  Hume,  it  is  well  known,  wrote  an  elaborate  treatise,  to 
prove,  "  that  utility  is  the  constituent  or  measure  of  virtue:"  In 
short,  to  use  the  emphatic  language  of  Dr.  Smith,  "that  we  have 

*  Stewart's  Outlines,  p.  I2S. 

t  Fable  of  the  Bees,  vol.  i.  p.  28-30.  8vo.  London,  1728 ;  and  Brown's  Lec- 
tures, vol.  iv.  p.  4.  t  Brown's  Lectures,  vol.  iv.  p.  17. 


CONSCIENTIOUSNESS.  273 

no  other  reason  for  praising  a  man,  than  that  for  which  we  ccm- 
mend  a  chest  of  drawers.  "* 

There  is  another  system  "which  makes  the  utility  according 
to  which  we  measure  virtue,  in  every  case  our  own  individual 
advantage.  Virtue,  according  to  this  system,  is  the  mere  search 
of  pleasure,  or  of  personal  gratification.  It  gives  up  one  pleasure, 
indeed,  but  it  gives  it  up  for  a  greater.  It  sacrifices  a  present 
enjoyment ;  but  it  sacrifices  it  only  to  obtain  some  enjoyment, 
wliich,  in  intensity  and  duration,  is  fairly  worth  the  sacrifice." 
Hence,  in  every  instance  iij  which  an  individual  seems  to  pursue 
the  good  of  others,  as  good,  he  seeks  his  own  personal  gratifi- 
cation, and  nothing  else,  f 

Dr.  Hutcheson,  on  the  other  hand,  strenuously  maintains  the 
existence  of  a  moral  sense,  on  which  our  perceptions  of  virtue  are 
founded,  independently  of  all  other  considerations. 

Dr.  Paley,  the  most  popular  of  all  authors  on  moral  philosophy, 
does  not  admit  a  natural  sentiment  of  justice  as  the  foundation 
of  virtue,  but  is  also  an  adherent  of  the  selfish  system,  under  a 
modified  form.  He  makes  virtue  consist  in  "the  doing  good  to 
mankind,  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  and  for  the  saJce  of 
everlasting  happiness."^  According  to  this  doctrine,  "the  will 
of  God  is  our  rule,  but  private  happiness  our  motive,"  which  is 
just  selfishness  in  another  form.  ^ 

Dr.  Adam  Smith,  in  his  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments,  endeav- 
ors to  show,  that  the  standard  of  moral  approbation  is  sympathy 
on  the  part  of  the  impartial  spectator,  with  the  action  and  object 
of  the  party  whose  conduct  is  judged  of. 

Dr.  Reid  and  Mr.  Stewart  maintain  the  existence  of  a  faculty  in 
man,  which  produces  the  sentiment  of  right  and  wrong,  independ- 
ently of  any  other  consideration. 

These  disputes  are  as  far  from  being  terminated  among  metaphy- 
sicians at  present,  as  they  were  a  century  ago  ;  a  late  writer  on  the 
subject,  the  Author  of  the  article  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  Edin- 
burgh Encyclopaedia,  disputes  the  existence  of  a  moral  sense,  and 
founds  virtue  upon  religion  and  utihty. 

«  Lib.  cit.  p.  32.  t  Lib.  eit.  p.  C4.  t  Lib.  cit.  vol.  iv.  p.  100,  101. 

35 


274  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 

I  have  introduced  this  sketch  of  conflicting  theories,  to  convey 
some  idea  of  the  boon  which  Phrenology  would  confer  upon  moral , 
science,  if  it  could  fix,  on  a  firm  basis,  this  single  point  in  the 
philosophy  of  mind.  That  a  power  or  faculty  exists,  the  object  of 
which  is  to  produce  the  sentiment  of  justice  or  the  feeling  of  moral 
duty  and  obligation,  independently  of  selfishness,  hope  of  reward, 
fear  of  punishment  or  any  extrinsic  motive ;  a  faculty,  in  short,  the 
natural  language  of  which  is  "Fiat  justitia,  ruat  coelum."  Pliren- 
ology  does  this  by  a  demonstration,  founded  on  numerous  observa- 
tions, that  those  persons  who  have  the  organ  now  under  consideration 
large,  experience  powerfully  the  sentiment  of  justice,  while  those 
who  have  that  part  small,  are  Httle  alive  to  this  emotion.  This 
evidence  is  the  same  in  kind  as  that  adduced  in  support  of  the 
conclusions  of  physical  science. 

The  faculty  produces  the  feeling  of  obligation,'  incumbency,  right 
and  wrong,  for  which  we  have  no  single  definite  expression  in 
the  English  language  ;  just  as  Ideality  produces  the  sentiment  of 
Beauty.  Justice  is  the  result  of  this  sentiment,  acting  in  com- 
bination with  the  intellectual  powers.  The  latter  investigate  the 
motives  and  consequences  of  actions ;  but,  after  having  done  so, 
they,  of  themselves,  experience  no  emotions.  In  surveying  human 
conduct,  however,  as  soon  as  the  intellect  has  thoroughly  pene- 
trated into  the  springs  from  which  it  proceeds,  a  feeling  of  decided 
approval  or  condemnation,  distinct  from  all  other  sentiments,  and 
fi-om  pure  intellection,  arises  in  the  mind  ;  and  this  is  produced  by 
the  faculty  of  Conscientiousness. 

This  faculty  is  of  the  very  liighest  importance  as  a  regulator  of 
all  the  others.  If  Combativeness  be  too  active.  Conscientiousness 
prescribes  a  limit  to  its  indulgence  ;  it  permits  defence,  but  no 
malicious  aggression  :  if  Acquisitiveness  urge  too  keenly,  it  reminds 
us  of  the  rights  of  others  :  if  Benevolence  tend  towards  profusion, 
this  faculty  issues  the  admonition,  be  just  before  you  are  generous  : 
if  Ideality  aspire  to  its  high  delights,  when  duty  requires  laborious 
exertions  in  a  humble  sphere.  Conscientiousness  supplies  the  curb, 
and  bids  the  soaring  spirit  stoop  its  wing. 

Nay,  not  only  does  it  operate  as  a  curb  upon  our  too  active 


CONSCIENTIOUSNESS.  275 

desires,  but  as  a  spur  to  excite  tlie  faculties,  when  too  feeble  in 
their  energy.  If  Benevolence  be  weak,  Conscientiousness  pro- 
claims, in  a  voice  of  authority,  that  it  is  our  duty  to  relieve  the 
miserable  ; — if  Acquisitiveness  be  too  feeble  to  prompt  to  industry, 
this  sentiment  calls  aloud  on  us  to  labor,  that  we  may  do  justice  to 
those  around  us.  From  this  regulating  quality  Conscientiousness 
is  an  important  element  in  constituting  a  practical  judgment  and 
an  upright  and  consistent  chai'acter. 

When  this  faculty  is  powerful,  the  individual  is  disposed  to  reg- 
ulate^ his  conduct  by  the  nicest  sentiments  of  justice  :  there  is  an 
earnestness,  integrity,  and  directness  in  his  manner,  which  inspire 
us  with  confidence,  and  give  us  conviction  of  his  sincerity.  Such 
an  individual  desires  to  act  justly  from  the  love  of  justice,  unbi- 
assed by  fear,  interest,  or  any  sinister  motive. 

The  activity  of  this  faculty  takes  a  wider  range  than  respect 
merely  to  the  legal  rights  and  property  of  others.  It  prompts 
those  in  whom  it  is  strong,  to  do  justice  in  judging  of  the  conduct, 
the  opinions,  and  the  talents  of  others.  Such  persons  are  scru- 
pulous, and  as  ready  to  condemn  themselves  as  to  find  fault  with 
others.  When  predominant,  it  leads  to  punctuality  in  keeping 
appointments,  because  it  is  injustice  to  sacrifice  the  time  and 
convenience  of  others,  by  causing  them  to  wait  till  our  selfishness 
finds  it  agreeable  to  meet  them.  It  prompts  to  ready  payment  of 
debts,  as  a  piece  of  justice  to  those  to  whom  they  are  due.  It  will 
not  permit  even  a  tax-collector  to  be  sent  away  unsatisfied,  from 
any  cause  except  inability  to  pay;  because  it  is  injustice  to  him,  as 
it  is  to  clerks,  servants,  and  all  others,  to  require  them  to  consume 
their  time  in  unnecessary  attendance,  for  what  is  justly  due  and 
ought  at  once  to  be  paid.  It  leads  also  to  great  reserve  in  making 
promises,  but  to  much  punctuality  in  performing  them.  It  gives 
consistency  to  the  conduct,  because,  when  every  sentiment  is 
regulated  by  justice,  the  result  is,  that  "  daily  beauty  in  the  life" 
which  renders  the  individual  in  the  highest  degree  useful  and  re- 
spectable. It  communicates  a  pleasing  simplicity  to  the  manners, 
which  commands  the  esteem,  and  wins  the  affections,  of  all  well 
constituted  minds. 


276  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 

A  deficiency  of  this  sentiment  produces  effects  exactly  opposite. 
The  weakness  of  the  faculty  appears  in  the  general  sentiments  of 
the  individual,  although  circumstances  may  place  him  beyond  reach 
of  temptation  to  infringe  the  law.  The  predominant  propensities 
and  sentiments  then  act  without  this  powerful  regulator.  If  Be- 
nevolence and  Adhesiveness  attach  him  to  a  friend,  he  is  blind 
to  all  his  imperfections,  and  extols  him  as  the  most  matchless  of 
human  beings.  If  he  happen  to  offend,  he  becomes  a  monster  of 
ingratitude  and  baseness;  he  passes  in  an  instant  from  an  angel  to  a 
demon.  If  Conscientiousness  had  been  large,  he  would  have  been 
viewed  all  along  as  a  man;  esteem  towards  him  would  have  been 
regulated  by  principle,  and  the  offence  candidly  dealt  with.  If 
Love  of  Approbation  be  large,  and  Conscientiousness  deficient,  the 
former  will  prompt  to  the  adoption  of  every  means  that  will  please, 
without  the  least  regard  to  justice  and  propriet)'.  If  an  individual 
have  a  weak  point  in  his  character,  Love  of  Approbation  will  then 
lead  to  flattering  it;  if  he  have  extravagant  expectations,  it  will  join 
m  all  his  anticipations;  if  he  be  displeased  with  particular  persons, 
it  will  affect  to  hate  with  his  hate,  altogether  independent  of  justice. 
In  short,  the  individual  in  whom  this  faculty  is  deficient,  is  apt  to 
act  and  also  to  judge  of  the  conduct  of  others,  exactly  according 
to  his  predominant  sentiments  for  the  time  :  he  is  friendly  when 
under  the  impulse  of  Benevolence;  severe  when  Destructiveness 
predominates  ;  admires,  when  his  pride,  vanity,  or  affection,  give 
him  a  favorable  feeling  towards  others;  and  condemns  when  his 
sentiments  take  an  opposite  direction,  always  unregulated  by  prin- 
ciple. He  is  not  scrupulous,  and  rarely  condemns  his-  own  con- 
duct, or  acknowledges  himself  in  the  wrong.  Minds  so  constituted 
maybe  amiable,  and  may  display  many  excellent  qualities;  but  they 
are  never  to  be  relied  on  where  justice  is  concerned;  as  judges, 
their  decisions  are  unsound;  as  friends,  they  are  liable  to  exact  too 
much  and  perform  too  little;  as  sellers,  they  are  prone  to  misrepre- 
sent, adulterate,  or  overcharge ;  as  buyers,  to  depreciate  quality  and 
quantity,  or  evade  payment. 

The  laws  of  honor,  as  apprehended  by  some  minds,  are  founded 
on  an  absence  of  Conscientiousness,  with  great  predominance   of 


CONSCIENTIOUSNESS.  277 

Self-Esteera  and  Love  of  Approbation.  If  a  gentleman  is  con- 
scious that  he  has  unjustly  given  another  offence,  it  is  conceived 
by  many  that  he  will  degrade  himself  by  making  an  apology;  that  it 
is  his  duty  to  fight,  but  not  to  acknowledge  himself  in  fault.  This 
is  the  feeling  produced  by  a  powerful  Self-Esteem  and  Love  of 
Approbation,  with  great  deficiency  of  Conscientiousness.  Self- 
Esteem  is  mortified  by  an  admission  of  fallibility,  and  Love  of 
Approbation  gives  the  feeling  that  the  esteem  of  the  world  will  be 
lost  by  such  an  acknowledgement;  and  if  no  higher  sentiment  be , 
present,  in  a  sufficient  degree,  the  wretched  victim  will  go  to  the 
field  and  die  in  support  of  conduct  that  is  ti'uly  indefensible.  When 
Conscientiousness  is  strong,  the  possessor  feels  it  no  degradation 
to  acknowledge  himself  in  fault,  when  he  is  aware  that  he  is  wrong; 
in  fact  he  rises  in  his  own  esteem  by  doing  so,  and  knov/s  that  he 
acquires  the  respect  of  the  world;  while,  if  fully  conscious  of  being 
in  the  right,  there  is  none  more  inflexible  than  he. 

This  sentiment  is  essential  to  the  formation  of  a  truly  philosophic 
mind,  especially  in  moral  investigations.  It  produces  the  desire 
of  discovering  truth,  the  tact  of  recognising  it  when  discovered, 
and  that  perfect  reliance  on  its  invincible  supremacy,  which  give 
at  once  dignity  and  peace  to  the  mind.  A  person  in  whom  it  Is 
deficient,  views  all  propositions  as  mere  opinions;  esteems  them 
exactly  as  they  ai'e  fashionable  or  the  reverse,  and  cares  nothing 
about  the  evidence  on  which  they  rest.  Love  of  Approbation  and 
Secretiveness,  joined  with  this  sentiment  deficient,  lead  to  paradox; 
and  if  Combativeness  be  added,  there  will  be  a  tendency  to  general 
skepticism,  and  the  denial  or  disputation  of  the  best-established 
truths  on  every  serious  subject. 

No  sentiment  is  more  incomprehensible  to  those  in  whom  the 
organ  is  small,  than  Conscientiousness.  They  are  able  to  under- 
stand conduct,  proceeding  from  ambition,  self-interest,  revenge, 
or  any  other  motive ;  but  that  determination  of  soul,  which  suffers 
obloquy  and  reproach,  nay  death  itself,  from  the  pure  and  disinter- 
ested love  of  truth,  is  to  them  utterly  unintelligible.  They  regard  it 
as  a  species  of  insanity,  and  look  on  the  individual  as  "  essentially 


278  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 

mad,  without  knowing  it."  Madame  De  Stael  narrates  of  Bona- 
parte, that  he  never  was  so  completely  at  fault,  in  his  estimate  of 
character,  as  when  he  met  with  opposition  from  a  person  actuated 
bj  the  pure  principle  of  integrity  alone.  He  did  not  comprehend 
the  motives  of  such  a  man,  and  could  not  imagine  how  he  might  be 
managed.  The  maxim,  that  "  every  man  has  his  price,"  will  pass 
as  profoundly  discriminative  with  those  in  whom  Acquisitiveness  or 
Love  of  Approbation  is  very  large,  and  Conscientiousness  mod- 
erate ;  but  there  are  minds  whose  deviation  from  the  paths  of 
rectitude  no  price  could  purchase,  and  no  honors  procure;  and 
those  in  whom  Conscientiousness,  Firmness,  and  Reflection,  are 
large,  will  give  an  instinctive  assent  to  the  truth  of  this  proposition. 

I  have  observed  that  individuals,  in  whom  Love  of  Approbation 
was  large,  and  Conscientiousness  not  in  equal  proportion,  were 
incapable  of  conceiving  the  motive  which  could  lead  any  one  to 
avow  a  belief  in  Phrenology,  while  the  tide  of  ridicule  ran  unstem- 
med  against  it.  If  the  public  opinion  should  change,  such  persons 
would  move  foremost  in  the  train  of  its  admirers:  They  instinct- 
ively follow  the  doctrines  that  are  most  esteemed  from  day  to  day; 
and  require  our  pity  and  forbearance,  as  their  conduct  proceeds 
from  a  great  moral  deficiency,  which  is  their  misfortune  rather  than 
their  fault.  The  fact  that  this  organ  is  occasionally  deficient  in 
individuals  in  whom  the  organs  of  intellect  are  amply  developed, 
and  the  animal  propensities  strong,  accounts  for  the  unprincipled 
ba.seness  and  moral  depravity  exhibited  by  some  men  of  unques- 
tionable talents. 

It  is  here,  as  in  other  cases,  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
attend  to  the  distinct  functions  of  the  several  faculties  of  the  mind. 
No  mistake  is  more  generally  committed  than  that  of  conceiving, 
that,  by  exercising  the  faculty  of  Veneration,  we  cultivate  those  of 
Benevolence  and  Justice;  but  if  Veneration  be  large,  and  Consci- 
entiousness small,  a  man  maybe  naturally  disposed  to  piety  and  not 
to  justice;  or  if  the  combination  be  reversed,  he  may  be  just  and 
not  pious,  in  the  same  manner  as  he  may  be  blind  and  not  deaf, 
or  deaf  and  not  blind.     Deficiency  of  Veneration  does  not  neces- 


CONSCIENTIOUSNESS.  279 

sarily  imply  profanity;  so  that,  although  an  individual  will  scarcely 
be  found  who  is  profane  and  at  the  same  time  just,  yet  many  will 
be  found  who  are  just  and  not  pious,  and  vice  versa. 

This  faculty,  when  powerful,  is  attended  with  a  sentiment  of  its 
own  paramount  authority  over  every  other,  and  it  gives  its  impulses 
with  a  tone  which  appears  like  the  voice  of  Heaven.  The  scene 
in  "  The  Heart  of  Mid-Lothian,"  in  which  Jeany  Deans  is  repre- 
sented giving  evidence  on  her  sister's  trial  at  the  bar  of  the  High 
Court  of  Justiciary,  affords  a  striking  illustration  of  its  functions  and 
authority  when  supported  by  piety.  A  strong  sense  of  the  impe- 
rious dictates  of  Conscientiousness,  and  of  the  supreme  obligation 
of  truth,  leads  her  to  sacrifice  every  interest  and  aftection  which 
could  make  the  mind  swerve  from  the  paths  of  duty ;  and  we  per- 
ceive her  holding  by  her  integrity,  at  the  expense  of  every  other 
feeling  dear  to  hmnan  nature. 

Repentance,  remorse,  a  sense  of  guilt,  and  demerit,  are  the 
consequences  of  this  faculty,  when  the  actions  have  been  in  oppo- 
sition to  its  dictates.  It  is  a  mistake,  however,  to  suppose,  that 
great  criminals  are  punished  by  the  accusations  of  conscience ;  for 
this  organ  is  generally  very  deficient  in  men  who  have  devoted 
their  lives  to  crime,  and,  in  consequence,  they  are  strangers  to  the 
sentiment  of  remorse.  Haggart  felt  regret  for  having  murdered  the 
jailor  of  Dumfries,  but  no  remorse  for  his  thefts.  His  large  Benev- 
olence induced  the  uneasy  feeling  on  account  of  the  first  crime,  and 
his  small  Conscientiousness  was  the  cause  of  his  indifference  to  the 
second.  If  Conscientiousness  had  been  strong,  he  could  not  have 
endured  the  sense  of  the  accumulated  iniquities  with  which  his  fife 
was  stained.  In  Bellingham,  both  Benevolence  and  Conscientious- 
ness are  small,  and  he  manifested  equal  insensibility  to  justice  and 
mercy,  and  testified  no  repentance  or  remorse. 

Dr.  Gall  did  not  admit  a  faculty  and  organ  of  Conscientiousness. 
He  formerly  considered  remorse  as  the  result  of  the  opposition  of 
particular  actions  to  the  predominant  dispositions  of  the  individual; 
and,  according  to  him,  there  were  as  many  consciences  as  facul- 
ties: for  example,  if  a  person,  in  whom  Benevolence  was  large, 
injured    another,  this  faculty  would    be    grieved  ;  and  this  feeling 


280  ,  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 

he  considered  to  be  regret  or  repentance.  If  a  usurer  and  a 
libertine  neglected  an  opportunity,  they  would  repent,  the  first 
for  not  having  gratified  Acquisitiveness,  the  latter  for  not  having 
seduced  some  innocent  victim.  Dr.  Gall  called  this  natural 
conscience,  and  said,  that  we  could  not  trust  to  it;  and  hence, 
that  laws  and  positive  institutions  became  necessary.  Dr.  Spurz- 
heim  answered  this  argument  in  an  able  manner,  and  showed  that 
the  mere  feeling  of  regret  is  totally  different  from  that  of  remorse. 
We  may  regret  that  we  lost  a  pair  of  gloves,  or  spent  half-a-crown; 
but  this  feeling  bears  no  resemblance  to  the  upbraidings  of  con- 
science for  having  robbed  a  neighbor  of  his  right,  committed  a 
fraud,  or  uttered  a  malevolent  falsehood.  Dr.  Gall  latterly  regard- 
ed Benevolence  as  the  moral  faculty:  but  the  sentiment  of  right 
and  wrong  is  as  cleai'ly  distinguishable  from  mere  goodness  or  kind- 
ness, as  Hope  is  from  Fear  ;  and,  besides,  positive  facts  prqve 
that  the  two  feelings  depend  on  different  organs. 

This  organ  deficient,  and  Secretiveness  large,  and  especially 
when  the  latter  is  aided  by  Ideality  and  Wonder,  produce  a  natu- 
ral tendency  to  lying,  which  some  individuals,  who  have  possessed 
the  advantages  of  education  and  good  society,  have  never  been 
able  to  overcome. 

Some  criminals,  on  being  detected,  confess,  and  seem  to  court 
punishment,  as  the  only  means  of  assuaging  the  remorse  with  which 
their  own  minds  are  devoured.  The  Phrenological  Society  has  a 
cast  of  the  skull  of  one  person  who  displayed  this  desire  to  atone 
for  his  crime.  It  is  that  of  John  Rotherham,  who  met  a  servant 
girl  on  the  highway  and  murdered  her,  out  of  the  pure  wanton 
impulse  of  Destructiveness;  for  he  did  not  attempt  to  violate  her 
person;  Eind  of  her  property,  he  took  only  her  umbrella  and  shoes. 
When  apprehended,  he  confessed  his  crime, — insisted  on  pleading 
guilty, — and,  with  great  difficult;-,  was  induced  by  the  judge  to 
retract  his  admission.  The  organ  is  large  in  him.  He  appears  to 
have  acted  under  an  excessive  influence  of  Destructiveness. 

James  Gordon,  on  the  contrary,  who  murdered  the  pedlar  boy 
in  Eskdale  Muir,  stoutly  denied  his  guilt,  and,  after  conviction, 
abused  the  jury  and  judge  for  condemning  him.     Before  his  execu- 


CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 


283 


tion,  he  admitted  that  his  sentence  was  just.     In  him^  the  organ  of 
Conscientiousness  is  defective. 

The  organ  is  very  large  in  Mrs.  H.,  the  Rev.  Mr.  M.,  and  in 
Dr.  Hette,  who  all  manifested  the  sentiment  powerfully.  Con- 
siderable attention  is  requisite  to  discriminate  accurately  the  size  of 
this  organ.  When  Firmness  is  large,  and  Conscientiousness  small, 
the  head  slopes  at  an  acute  angle  downwards  from  Firmness,  as 
in  Haggart  and  King  Robert  Bruce.  When  both  Firmness  and 
Conscientiousness  are  large,  the  head  rises  considerably  from  Cau- 
tiousness to  Firmness,  by  a  full  and  rounded  swell,  as  in  the  Rev. 
Mr.  M.  When  both  of  these  organs  are  small,  the  head  rises 
very  httle  above  Cautiousness,  but  runs  flat  across  to  Cautiousness' 
on  the  other  side,  as  in  the  boy  Gibson,  and  in  Mary  Street,  a 
child  distinguished  hke  him  for  lying  and  deceit.  The  figures  illus- 
trate these  combinations. 


Mrs.  H. 


John  Gibson. 


David  Haggart. 


Firmness  small,  Coiiscien- 
large. 


Firmness  large,  Conscien- 
tiousness deficient. 


In  Mrs.  H.,  Firmness  15  is  small,  and  Conscientiousness  16  large  ;  in  D.  Hag- 
gart, Firmness  1-5  is  large,  and  Conscientiousness  16  deficient;  and  in  John 
Gibson  both  of  these  organs  are  deficient,  which  is  indicated  by  the  head  rising 
very  little  above  12  Cautiousness.  If  in  Mrs.  H.,  Firmness  had  been  as  large 
as  Conscientiousness;  or  in  Haggart,  Conscientiousness  had  been  as  large- as 
Firmness,  the  heads  would  have  presented  a  full  and  elevated  segment  of  a 
circle  passing  from  Cautiousness  to  Cautiousness,  the  very  opposite  of  the  flat 
and  low  line  in  the  head  of  Gibson.  It  is  of  great  importance  in  practice  to 
attend  to  these  different  forms. 


The  difference  of  developement  of  this  organ  in  different  nations 

and  individuals,  and  its  combinations  with  other  organs,  enable  us 

to  account  for  the  differences  in  the  notions  of  justice  entertained  at 

different  times,  and  by  different  people.    The  sentiment  of  Truth  is 

36 


282  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 

found  by  the  English  Judges  to  be  so  low  in  the  Africans,  the  Hin- 
doos, and  in  the  aboriginal  Americans,  that  the  natives  of  these 
countries  are  not  received  as  witnesses  in  the  Colonial  Courts  ;  and 
it  is  a  curious  fact,  that  a  defect  in  the  organ  of  Conscientiousness 
is  a  reigning  feature  in  the  skulls  of  these  nations,  in  possession  of 
the  Phrenological  Society.  The  notions  of  justice  of  that  indi- 
vidual are  most  fit  to  be  assumed  as  a  standard,  in  whom  this  organ 
is  decidedly  large,  in  combination  with  a  large  endowment  of  the 
other  moral  sentiments  and  reflection  ;  just  as  we  hold  the  person 
possessed  of  the  greatest  organ  of  Tune,  in  combination  with  the' 
organs  of  the  moral  sentiments  and  reflection,  to  be  the  best  judge 
of  musical  compositions.  It  is  obvious,  also,  that  laws,  or  positive 
commands,  ordering  and  forbidding  certain  actions,  become  neces- 
sary as  rules,  to  those  who  do  not  possess  a  sufficient  endowment 
of  this  sentiment  from  nature  to  regulate  their  conduct.  Those  who 
are  favorably  gifted,  are,  in  the  language  of  St.  Paul,  "  a  law  unto 
themselves." 

It  has  been  objected,  that  persons  possessing  a  large  develope- 
ment  of  this  organ,  not  unfrequently  act  in  opposition  to  the  dictates 
of  the  sentiment,  and  practise  selfishness,  or  sacrifice  justice  to 
ambition,  exactly  as  those  do  in  whom  the  organ  is  small  ;  and  it 
is  asked.  What  becomes  of  the  organ  in  such  instances.''  The 
plurality  of  organs  and  faculties  explains  this  phenomenon.  Con- 
scientiousness is  not  the  only  faculty  in  the  mind,  and,  although 
it  is  paramount  in  authority,  it  is  not  always  so  in  strength.  A 
person  in  whom  Benevolence  and  Destructiveness  are  both  large, 
may,  under  special  circumstances,  which  strongly  excite  Destruc- 
tiveness, manifest  that  faculty  in  rage,  revenge,  or  undue  severity, 
in  direct  opposition  to  Benevolence.  In  like  manner,  an  individual 
in  whom  Acquisitiveness  and  Self-Esteem  are  large,  may,  if  these 
are  very  forcibly  addressed,  obey  their  impulse  in  opposition  to  that 
of  Conscientiousness  ;  but  the  benevolent  man,  when  the  tempt- 
ation is  past,  feels  the  opposition  between  his  conduct  and  the 
dictates  of  Benevolence ;  and,  in  like  manner,  the  individual  last 
supposed,  on  cool  reflection,  becomes  conscious  of  the  opposition 
betwixt  his  unjust  preference  of  himself,  and  the  dictates  of  Con- 


CONSCIENTIOUSNESS.  283 

scientiousness  ;  both  will  repent,  and  will  make  atonement,  and 
desire  to  avoid  repetition  of  such  errors.  If  Benevolence  and 
Conscientiousness  had  been  small,  they  would  not  haye  felt  that 
their  actions  were  wrong  ;  they  would  have  experienced  no  re- 
morse ;  and  their  lower  faculties  would  have  operated  with  greatly 
increased  violence.  I  have  observed  practically,  that  when  Con- 
scientiousness is  large  in  any  individual,  he  will  yield  compliance 
with  demands  made  on  him  whenever  a  strong  case  in  justice  is 
made  out  by  the  applicant ;  but  when  the  organ  is  not  large,  he 
will  be  moved  only  by  favor  or  partiality.  It  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  the  respectability  of  Government,  and  the  welfare 
of  the  people,  that  public  functionaries  should  possess  the  former 
character.  The  necessity  of  it  in  persons  in  authority  will  be 
more  and  more  felt  as  society  advances  in  knowledge,  discrimina- 
tion, and  morality. 

Another  difficulty  is  experienced  in  the  doctrine,  that  Conscien- 
tiousness is  merely  a  sentiment,  and  does  not  form  specific  ideas 
of  what  is  just.  This  will  be  best  removed  by  an  example  :  A 
judge  hears  one  side  of  a  cause,  and  Conscientiousness,  acting  on 
the  statement  presented  to  it,  through  the  medium  of  the  intellect, 
produces  the  feeling  that  this  first  party  is  in  the  right.  The  other 
litigant  is  next  heard,  new  facts  appear,  and  Conscientiousness  may 
now  produce  the  feeling  that  justice  lies  on  his  side.  If  this  faculty 
itself  had  formed  specific  ideas  of  what  is  just,  it  would  have  been 
an  intellectual  power,  and  reasoning  would  have  been  in  proportion 
to  it,  which  is  not  the  case  ;  but,  as  it  is  only  a  sentiment,  its  real 
function  is  to  produce  an  emotion  of  justice  or  injustice,  on  the 
particular  case  or  assemblage  of  facts  presented  to  it  by  the  intel- 
lect. An  illustration  of  this  doctrine  is  found  in  the  "  Hermit  " 
by  Parnell.  The  angel  throws  the  servant  over  the  bridge  ;  and 
this  is  felt  to  be  unjust,  while  nothing  more  is  known  than  the 
result ;  but  when  the  intellect  is  afterwards  informed,  that  he  in- 
tended next  night  to  murder  his  master.  Conscientiousness  feels  that 
his  destruction  by  the  angel  was  just.  This  is  not  Conscientious- 
ness giving  opjiosite  decisions  on  the  same  case  ;  but  the  intellect 
presenting  different  cases,  or  different  views  of  the  same  case,  and 


284  CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 

Conscientiousness  producing  its  peculiar  emotion,  in  regard  to  each 
according  as  it  is  laid  before  it. 

This  organ  is  occasionally  found  diseased,  and  then  the  most 
awful  sentiments  of  guilt,  generally  imaginary,  harrow  up  the  mind. 
I  have  seen  two  individuals  laboring  under  this  disease.  One  of 
them  believed  himself  to  be  in  debt  to  an  enormous  amount,  which 
he  had  no  means  of  paying.  The  other  imagined  himself  to  be 
guilty  of  murder,  and  every  variety  of  wickedness  contained  in 
the  records  of  iniquity  ;  when,  in  fact,  the  whole  conduct  of  both 
while  in  health,  had  been  marked  by  the  greatest  honor  and'  scru- 
pulosity. When  this  organ,  and  that  of  Cautiousness,  are  diseased 
at  the  same  time,  the  individual  imagines  himself  to  be  the  most 
worthless  of  sinners,  and  is  visited  with  fearful  apprehensions  of 
punishment.  Such  patients  sometimes  present  a  picture  of  despair 
which  is  truly  appalling.  Slight  degrees  of  disease  of  these  organs, 
not  amounting  to  insanity,  are  not  unfrequent  in  this  country,  and 
produce  an  inward  trouble  of  the  mind,  which  throws  a  gloom  over 
life,  and  leads  such  persons  to  see  only  the  terrors  of  religion. 

fn  the  first  edition  of  this  work,  I  stated  that  gratitude  probably 
arises  from  this  faculty;  but  Sir  G.  S.  Mackenzie,  in  his  "  Illustra- 
tions of  Phrenology,"  has  showed  that  "  gratitude  "  is  much  height- 
ened by  Benevolence, — a  view  in  which  I  now  fully  acquiesce. 

It  is  premature  to  speak  of  the  combinations  of  the  faculties, 
before  we  have  finished  the  detail  of  the  simple  functions  ;  but  this 
is  the  most  proper  occasion,  in  other  respects,  to  observe,  that 
Phrenology  enables  us  to  account  for  the  origin  of  the  various 
theories  of  morals  before  enumerated. 

Hobbes,  for  instance,  denied  every  natural  sentiment  of  justice, 
and  erected  the  laws  of  the  civil  magistrate  into  the  standard  of 
morality.  This  doctrine  would  appear  natural  and  sound  to  a 
person  in  whom  Conscientiousness  was  very  feeble  ;  who  never 
experienced  in  his  own  mind  a  single  emotion  of  justice,  but  who 
was  alive  to  fear,  to  the  desire  of  property,  and  other  affections 
which  would  render  security  and  regular  government  desirable.  It 
is  probable  that  Hobbes  was  so  constituted. 

Mandeville  makes  selfishness  the  basis  of  all  our  actions,  but 


CONSCIENTIOUSNESS.  285 

admits  a  strong  appetite  for  praise ;  the  desire  for  which,  he  says, 
leads  men  to  abate  other  enjoyments,  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  it. 
If  we  conceive  Mandeville  to  have  possessed  a  deficient  Conscien- 
tiousness, and  a  large  Love  of  Approbation,  this  doctrine  would  be 
the  natural  language  of  his  mind. 

Mr.  Hume  erects  utility,  to  ourselves  or  others,  into  the  stand- 
ard of  virtue  ;  and  this  would  be  the  natural  feeling  of  a  mind  in 
which  Benevolence  and  Reflection  were  strong,  and  Conscientious- 
ness weak. 

Paley  makes  virtue  consist  in  obeying  the  will  of  God,  as  our 
rule,  and  doing  so  for  the  sake  of  eternal  happiness  as  the  motive. 
This  is  the  natural  language  of  a  mind  in  which  the  selfish  or  lower 
propensities  are  considerable,  and  in  which  Veneration  is  strong, 
and  Conscientiousness  not  remarkable  for  vigor. 

Cudworth,  Hutcheson,  Reid,  Stewart  and  Brown,*  on  the  other 
hand,  contend  most  eagerly  and  eloquently  for  the  existence  of  an 
original  sentiment  or  emotion  of  justice  in  the  mind,  altogether  in- 
dependent of  other  considerations  ;  and  this  is  the  natural  feeling 
of  persons  in  whom  this  faculty  is  powerful.     A  much  respected 


*  I  embrace  this  opportunity  of  paying  a  humble  tribute  to  the  talents  of  the 
late  Dr.  Thomas  Brown.  The  acuteness,  depth,  and  comprehensiveness  of  intel- 
lect displayed  in  his  works  on  the  Mind,  place  him  in  the  highest  rank  of 
philosophical  authors ;  and  these  great  qualities  are  equalled  by  the  purity  and 
vividness  of  his  moral  perceptions.  His  powers  of  analysis  are  unrivalled,  and 
his  eloquence  is  frequently  splendid.  His  "  Lectures  "  will  remain  a  monument 
of  what  the  human  mind  was  capable  of  accomplishing^  in  investigating  its  own 
constitution,  by  an  imperfect  method.  In  proportion  as  Phrenology  shall  become 
known,  the  admiration  of  his  genius  will  increase ;  for  it  is  the  highest  praise  to 
say,  that,  in  regard  to  many  points  of  great  difficulty  and  importance  in  the 
Philosophy  of  Mind,  he  has  arrived,  by  his  own  reflections,  at  conclusions  har- 
monizing with  those  obtained  by  phrenological  observation.  Of  this,  his  doctrine 
on  the  moral  emotion  discussed  in  the  text,  is  a  striking  instance.  Sometimes, 
indeed,  his  arguments  are  subtle,  his  distinctions  too  refined ;  and  his  style  is 
circuitous ;  but  the  phrenologist  will  pass  lightly  over  these  imperfections,  for 
they  occur  only  occasionally,  and  arise  from  mere  excess  of  the  faculties  of  Se- 
cretiveness.  Comparison,,  Causality,  and  Wit ;  on  a  great  endowment  of  which, 
along  with  Concentrativeness,  his  penetration  and  comprehensiveness  depended. 
In  fact,  he  possessed  the  organs  of  these  powers  largely  developed,  and  they 
afford  a  key  to  his  genius. 


286  HOPE. 

individual,  in  whom  this  organ  is  predominantly  large,  mentioned 
to  me,  that  no  circumstance  in  philosophy  occasioned  to  him  greater 
surprise,  than  the  denial  of  the  existence  of  a  moral  faculty  ;  and 
that  the  attempts  to  prove  it  appeared  to  him  like  endeavors  to 
prop  up,  by  demonstration,  a  self-evident  axiom  in  mathematical 
science. 

The  organ  is  regarded  as  established. 


17. HOPE. 

This  organ  is  situated  on  each  side  of  that  of  Veneration,  and 
extends  under  part  of  the  frontal  and  part  of  the  parietal  bones.  It 
cannot  be  brought  into  outline  in  a  drawing,  and  on  this  account  no 
figure  is  given. 

Dr.  Gall  considered  Hope  as  belonging  to  every  faculty ;  but 
Dr.  Spurzheim  very  properly  observes,  that  although  every  faculty 
being  active  produces  desire,  as  Acquisitiveness  the  desire  for 
property,  and  Love  of  Approbation  the  desire  for  praise  ;  yet  this 
is  very  different  from  Hope,  which  is  a  simple  emotion,  sui  generis, 
susceptible  of  being  directed  in  a  great  variety  of  ways,  but  not 
desiring  any  one  class  of  things  as  its  peculiar  objects.  Nay, 
desire  is  sometimes  strong,  when  Hope  is  feeble  or  extinct ;  a 
criminal  on  the  scaffold  may  ardently  desire  to  live,  when  he  has 
no  hope  of  escaping  death.  Dr.  Spurzheim  was  convinced,  by 
analysis,  that  Hope  is  a  distinct  primitive  sentiment ;  and  was  led 
to  expect  that  an  organ  for  it  would  exist.  Numerous  observations 
have  since  determined  the  situation  of  the  organ,  on  the  sides  of 
Veneration  ;  and  it  is  now  admitted  by  phrenologists  in  general  as 
established.  Dr.  Gall,  however,  continued  till  his  death  to  mark 
the  functions  of  this  part  of  the  brain  as  unascertained. 

The  faculty  produces  the  sentiment  of  Hope  in  general,  or  the 
tendency  to  believe  in  the  possibility  of  what  the  other  faculties 
desire,  but  without  giving  the  conviction  of  it,  which  depends  on 
Reflection.  Thus  a  person  with  much  Hope  and  raach  Acquis- 
itiveness, will  hope  to  become  rich;  another,  with  much  Hope 


J 


HOPE.  287 

and  great' Love  of  Approbation,  will  hope  to  rise  to  eminence; 
and  a  third,  with  much  Hope  and  great  Veneration,  will  hope  to 
be  saved,  and  to  enjoy  eternal  felicity  in  heaven.  It  inspires  with 
gay,  fascinating  and  delightful  emotions  ;  painting  futurity  fair  and 
smiling  as  the  regions  of  primitive  bliss.  It  invests  every  distant 
prospect  with  hues  of  enchanting  brilliancy,  while  Cautiousness 
hangs  clouds  and  mists  over  distant  objects  seen  by  the  mind's 
eye.  Hence  he  who  has  Hope  more  powerful  than  Cautiousness, 
lives  in  the  enjoyment  of  brilliant  anticipations,  which  are  never 
realized ;  while  he  who  has  Cautiousness  more  powerful  than 
Hope,  habitually  labors  under  the  painful  apprehension  of  evils 
which  rarely  exist,  except  in  his  own  internal  feelings.  The 
former  also  enjoys  the  present,  without  being  annoyed  by  fears 
about  the  future,  for  Hope  supplies  his  futurity  with  every  object 
which  his  fancy  desires,  quite  undisturbed  by  the  distance  of 
attainment ;  the  latter,  on  the  other  hand,  cannot  enjoy  the  plea- 
sures within  his  reach,  through  fear  that,  at  some  future  time,  they 
may  be  lost.  The  hfe  of  such  an  individual  is  spent  in  painful 
apprehension  of  evils,  to  which  he  is  in  fact  very  httle  exposed ; 
for  the  dread  of  their  happening  excites  him  to  ward  them  off  by 
so  many  precautions  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  they  can  overtake 
him. 

When  too  energetic  and  predominant,  this  faculty  disposes  to 
creduhty,  and,  in  mercantile  men,  leads  to  rash  and  inconsiderate 
speculations.  Persons  so  endowed  never  see  their  own  situation 
in  its  true  light,  but  are  prompted  by  extravagant  Hope  to  magnify 
tenfold  every  advantage,  while  they  are  blind  to  every  obstacle 
and  abatement.  They  promise  largely,  but  rarely  perform.  Inten- 
tional guile,  however,  is  frequently  not  their  object ;  they  are 
deceived  themselves  by  their  constitutional  tendency  to  believe 
every  thing  possible  that  is  future,  and  promise  in  the  spirit  of 
this  credulity.  Those  who  perceive  the  disposition  in  them, 
ought  to  exercise  their  own  judgment  on  the  possibility  of  per- 
formance, and  make  the  necessary  abatement  in  their  expectations. 
Experience  accomplishes  little  in  correcting  those  who  possess  too 
large  an  organ  of  Hope ;  the  tendency  to  expect  immoderately 


288  .  HOPE. 

being  constitutional,  they  have  it  not  in  their  power  to  see  both 
sides  of  the  prospect,  and,  beholding  only  that  which  is  fair,  they 
ai'e  necessarily  led  to  conclude  that  all  is  well.  When  the  organ 
is  very  deficient,  and  that  of  Cautiousness  large,  a  gloomy  des- 
pondency is  apt  to  invade  the  mind ;  and  if  Destructiveness  be 
large,  the  individual  may  resort  to  suicide  to  escape  from  wo. 

The  faculty,  if  not  combined  with  much  Acquisitiveness  or 
Love  of  Approbation,  disposes  to  indolence,  from  the  very  pro- 
mise which  it  holds  out  of  the  future  providing  for  itself.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  be  combined  with  these  organs  in  a  full  degree, 
it  acts  as  a  spur  to  the  mind,  by  uniformly  representing  the  object 
desired  as  attainable.  An  individual  with  much  Acquisitiveness, 
great  Cautiousness,  and  little  Hope^  will  save  to  become  rich; 
another  with  the  same  Acquisitiveness,  little  Cautiousness,  and 
much  Hope,  will  speculate  to  procure  wealth.  I  have  found  Hope 
and  Acquisitiveness  large  in  persons  addicted  to  gaming. 

Hope  has  a  great  effect  in  assuaging  the  fear  of  death.  I  have 
seen  persons  in  whom  it  was  very  large  die  by  inches,  and  linger 
for  months  on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  without  suspicion  of  the  fate 
impending  over  them.  They  hoped  to  be  well,  till  death  extin- 
guished the  last  ember  of  the  feeling.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
Hope,  and  Combativeness,  which  gives  courage,  ai'e  small,  and 
Cautiousness  and  Conscientiousness  large,  the  strongest  assurances 
of  the  Gospel  are  not  always  sufficient  to  enable  the  individual  to 
look  with  composure  or  confidence  on  the  prospect  of  a  judgment 
to  come.  Several  persons  in  whom  this  combination  occurs,  have 
told  me  that  they  Mved  in  a  state  of  habitual  uneasiness  in  looking 
forward  to  the  hour  of  death  ;  while  others,  with  a  large  Hope  and 
small  Cautiousness,  have  said  that  such  a  ground  of  alarm  never 
once  entered  their  imaginations.  Our  hopes  or  fears  on  a  point 
of  such  importance  as  our  condition  in  a  future  state,  ought  to  be 
founded  on  grounds  more  stable  than  mere  constitutional  feeling; 
but  I  mention  these  cases  to  draw  attention  to  the  fact,  that  this 
cause  sometimes  tinges  the  whole  conclusions  of  the  judgment; 
and  the  existence  of  such  a  source  of  delusion  being  known,  its 
effects  may  more  easily  be  resisted. 


HOPE.  289 

In  religion,  this  faculty  favors  the  exercise  of  faith;  and  by 
producing  the  natural  tendency  to  look  forward  to  futurity  with 
expectation,  disposes  to  belief  in  a  life  to  come. 

The  metaphysicians  admit  this  faculty,  so  that  Phrenology  only 
reveals  its  organ,  and  the  effects  of  its  endowment,  in  difierent 
degrees.  I  have  already  stated  an  argum.ent  in  favor  of  the  Being 
of  a  God,  founded  on  the  existence  of  a  faculty  of  Veneration 
conferring  the  tendency  to  worship,  of  which  God  is  the  proper 
and  ultimate  object.  May  not  the  probabihty  of  a  future  state  be 
supported  by  a  similar-  deduction  from  the  possession  of  a  faculty 
of  Hope .''  It  appears  to  me  that  this  is  the  faculty  from  whicli 
originates  the  notion  of  futurity,  and  which  carries  the  mind 
forward  in  endless  progression  into  periods  of  everlasting  time. 
May  it  not  be  inferred,  that  this  instinctive  tendency  to  leave  the 
present  scene,  and  all  its  enjoyments,  to  spring  forvvard  into  the 
regions  of  a  far  distarlt  futurity,  and  to  expatiate,  even  in  imagin- 
ation, in  the  fields  of  an  eternity  to  com^e,  denotes  that  man  is 
formed  for  a  more  glorious  destiny  than  to  perish  for  ever  in  the 
grave  .''  Addison  beautifully  enforces  this  argument  in  the  Spec- 
tator, and  in  the  soliloquy  of  Cato  ;  and  Phrenology  gives  v>reiglit 
to  his  reasoning,  by  showing  that  this  ardent  Hope,  "this  longing 
after  immortality,"  is  not  a  factitious  sentiment,  or  a  mere  exube- 
rance of  an  idle  and  wandering  imagination,  but  that  it  is  the  result 
of  a  primitive  faculty  of  the  mind,  which  owes  at  once  its  exist- 
ence and  its  functions  to  the  Creator. 

Pope  beautifully  describes  the  influence  of  the  sentiment  of 
Veneration,  in  prompting  us  to  worship,  blindly  indeed,  when 
undirected  by  information  superior  to  its  own.  He  falls  also  into 
the  idea  now  started  in  regard  to  Hope,  and  represents  it  as  the 
source  of  that  expectation  of  a  future  state  of  existence,  which 
seems  to  be  the  joy  and  delight  of  human  nature,  in  whatever  stage 
of  improvement  it  has  been  found. 

"  Lo  !  the  poor  Indian  whose  untutored  mind 
Sees  God  in  clouds,  or  hears  him  in  the  wind ; 
His  soul  proud  science  never  taught  to  stray  , 
Far  as  the  solar  walk,  or  milky  way  ; 

37 


290  WONDER 


Yet  simple  nature  to  his  hope  has  given, 
Behind  the  cloud-topt  hill,  an  humbler  heaven ; 
Some  safer  world,  in  depth  of  woods  embraced  • 
Some  happier  island  in  the  watery  waste  ; 
Where  slaves  once  more  their  native  land  behold, 
No  fiends  torment,  no  Christians  thirst  for  gold." 


The  organ  is  established. 


18. WONDER. 

This  organ  is  situated  immediately  above  Ideality. 

Dr.  Gall  observed,  that  some  individuals  imagine  themselves  to 
be  visited  by  appai-itions  of  persons  dead  or  absent ;  and  he  asks. 
How  does  it  happen,  that  men  of  considerable  intellect  often  be 
lieve  in  the  reahty  of  ghosts  and  visions?  Are  they  fools,  or  impos- 
tors? or.  Is  there  a  particular  organization,  which  imposes,  in  this 
form,  on  the  human  understanding?  and.  How  are  such  illusions  to 
be  explained?  He  then  enters  into  a  historical  sketch  of  the  most 
remarkable  instances  of  visions.  Socrates  spoke  frequently  and 
willingly  to  his  disciples  of  a  demon  or  spirit,  which  served  him  as 
a  guide.  Dr.  Gall  remarks,  that  he  is  quite  aware  of  the  com- 
mon explanation,  that  Socrates  referred  only  to  the  force  and 
justness  of  his  own  understanding  ;  but  adds,  that  if  he  had  not 
himself  believed  in  a  genius  communicating  with  him,  the  opinion 
that  he  had  one  would  have  been  lost  in  the  twenty-three  years, 
during  which  Aristophanes  had  made  it  a  subject  of  ridicule,  and 
his  accusers  would  not  have  revived  it  as  a  charge  against  him. 
Joan  of  Arc  also  related  an  appearance  of  St.  Michael  to  her,  who 
told  her  that  God  had  pity  on  France,  and  that  she  was  commis- 
sioned to  raise  the  siege  of  Orleans,  and  to  install  Charles  VII.  as 
King,  at  Rheims.  Tasso  asserted  himself  to  have  been  cured  by 
the  aid  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  St.  Scholastic,  who  appeared  to 
him  during  a  violent  attack  of  fever.  In  the  historical  notes  which 
accompany  the  Life  of  Tasso,  the  following  anecdote  appears,  ex- 
tracted from  the  Memoirs  of  Manso,  Marquis  of  Villa,  published 
after  the  death  of  Tasso,  his  friend. 


WONDER.  291 

"Tasso,  in  his  delirium,  believed  that  he  conversed  with  familiar 
spirits.  One  day,  when  the  Marquis  endeavored  to  drive  these 
ideas  from  his  mind,  Tasso  said  to  him,  '  Since  I  cannot  convince 
you  by  reason,  I  shall  do  so  by  experience;  I  shall  cause  the  spirit, 
in  which  you  refuse  to  believe,  to  appear  to  your  own  eyes.'  I 
accepted  the  offer,"  says  the  Marquis,  "  and  next  day,  when  we 
sat  by  the  fire  conversing,  he  turned  his  eyes  towards  the  window; 
and  looking  with  steadfast  attention,  appeared  so  completely  ab- 
sorbed, that  when  I  called  to  him,  he  did  not  answer.  '  See  ! 
said  he,  at  length,  '  See  !  my  familiar  spirit  comes  to  converse  with 
me. '  I  looked  with  the  greatest  earnestness,  but  could  see  nothing 
enter  the  apaitment.  In  the  meantime,  Tasso  began  to  converse 
with  this  mysterious  Being.  I  saw  and  heard  himself  alone. 
Sometimes  he  questioned,  and  sometimes  answered;  and  from  liis 
answers,  I  gathered  the  sense  of  what  he  had  heard.  The  subject 
of  his  discourse  was  so  elevated,  and  the  expressions  so  sublime, 
that  I  felt  myself  in  a  kind  of  ecstasy.  I  did  not  venture  to  inter- 
rupt him,  nor  to  trouble  him  with  questions,  and  a  considerable 
time  elapsed  before  the  spirit  disappeared.  I  was  informed  of  its 
departure  by  Tasso,  who,  turning  towards  me,  said,  '  In  future  you 
will  cease  to  doubt.'  '  Rather,'  said  I,  '  I  shall  be  more  skeptical, 
for  although  I  have  heard  astonishing  words,  I  have  seen  nothing. ' 
Smiling,  he  replied,  '  You  have  perhaps  heard  or  seen  more 
than  — '  He  stopped  short ;  and,  fearing  to  importune  him  by  my 
questions,  I  dropped  the  conversation."*  Dr.  Gall  quotes  this 
dialogue  from  "  La  Vie  du  Tasso,  publiee  a  Londres  en  1810;  " 
and  I  have  translated  from  Dr.  Gall's  citation. f 

Swedenborg  believed  himself  miraculously  called  to  reveal  to 
the  world  the  most  hidden  mysteries.  "In  1743,"  says  he,  "  it 
pleased  the  Lord  to  manifest  himself  to  me,  and  appear  personally 
before  me,  tq  give  me  a  knowledge  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  to 
place  me  in  communication  with  angels  and  spirits,  and  this  power 
has  been  continued  with  me  till  the  present  day."  "  Swedenborg," 


*  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau.  tome  v.  p.  341. 

t  For  the  original,  see  Rev.  Mr.  Black's  Life  of  Tasso,  vol.  ii.  p.  940. 


292  WONDER. 

say  his  biographers,  "was  a  man  of  unquestionable  sincerity,  but 
one  of  the  most  extravagant  enthusiasts  that  ever  existed."* 

Dr.  Gall  remarked,  in  the  first  fanatic  who  fell  under  his 
observation,  a  large  developement  of  the  part  of  the  brain  lying 
between  the  organs  of  Ideality  and  Imitation,  and  subsequently  met 
with  many  similar  instances.  Dr.  Jung  Stilling,  says  he,  whom 
he  often  saw  with  the  late  Grand  Duke  of  Baden,  was  a  tailor  in 
his  youth,  then  a  tutor,  afterwards  doctor  in  medicine,  moralist, 
divine,  journalist,  illuminatus,  and  visionary;  and  in  him  this  part 
of  the  brain  was  largely  developed.  He  believed  firmly  in 
apparitions,  and  wrote  a  book  in  exposition  of  this  doctrine.  In 
the  Maison  de  Detention  at  Berne,  Dr.  Gall  saw  a  fanatic,  who 
believed  that  Jesus  Christ,  surrounded  by  a  brilliant  light,  as  if 
a  million  of  suns  had  combined  their  splendors,  had  appeared  to 
him  to  reveal  the  true  religion.  A  gentleman,  who  moves  in  the 
best  society  in  Paris,  asked  Dr.  Gall  to  examine  his  head.  The 
Doctor's  first  remark  was,  "  You  sometimes  see  visions,  and 
believe  in  apparitions."  The  gentleman  started  from  his  chau-  in 
astonishment,  and  said,  that  he  had  frequent  visions ;  but  never,  up 
to  this  moment,  had  he  spoken  on  the  subject  to  any  human  being, 
tlirough  fear  of  being  set  down  for  being  absurdly  credulous.  On 
another-  occasion.  Dr.  Gall,  when  he  observed  the  developement 
of  the  head  of  Dr.  W.,  said,  that  he  ought  to  have  a  strong  liking 
for  the  marvellous  and  supernatural.  "For  once,"  rephed  he, 
"you  are  completely  mistaken,,  for  I  have  laid  down  the  rule  to 
believe  in  nothing  which  cannot  be  mathematically  demonstrated." 
After  talking  with  him  on  various  scientific  subjects,  Dr.  Gall 
turned  the  conversation  towards  animal  magnetism,  which  appeared 
a  fit  topic  to  put  the  mathematical  rigor  of  his  proofs  to  the  test. 
He  instantly  became  greatly  animated,  assured  Dr.  Gall  again  very 
solemnly,  that  he  admitted  nothing  as  true  that  was  not  mathemat- 
ically demonstrated  ;  but  added,  he  was  convinced  that  a  spiritual 
being  acted  in  magnetism ;  that  it  operated  at  great  distances ;  that 
no  distance  indeed  presented  an  obstacle  to  its  action,  and  that,  on 

*  Lib,  cit.  p.  342. 


WONDER.  293 

this  account,  it  coiild  sympathize  with  persons  in  any  part  of  the 
world.  "It  is  the  same  cause,"  continued  he,  "which  produces 
apparitions.  Appaiitions  and  visions  are  rare,  no  doubt,  but  they 
undoubtedly  exist,  and  I  am  acquainted  with  the  laws  which  regu- 
late their  production."  "  On  this  occasion,"  says  Dr.  Gcll,  "1 
thought  within  myself,  that  my  inference  from  his  developement 
was  not  so  very  erroneous  as  the  w^orthy  Doctor  wished  me  to 
believe." 

A  man  named  Halleran,  of  Vienna,  imagined  himself  continually 
accompanied  by  a  famihar  spirit ;  he  saw  the^spirit,  and  conversed 
with  it.  When  he  reached  his  sixtieth  year,  his  genius  appeared 
as  if  he  wished  to  leave  him,  and  only  on  certain  days  in  the  month 
was  he  favored  with  his  presence.  At  G-ersbach,  near  Durlach, 
in  the  Grand  Dutchy  of  Baden,  Dr.  Gall  knew  a  curate  who  was 
confined  because  he  conceived  himself  to  have  a  familiar  spirit. 
At  Manheim  there  was  a  man  who  saw  himself  continually  attended 
by  several  spirits :  Sometimes  they  marched  at  his  side,  in  visible 
forms ;  at  other  times  they  attended  him  underground.  In  these 
persons  Dr.  Gall  found  the  part  of  the  brain  in  question  largely 
developed.  He  states  as  questions  for  consideration,  "Does  this 
convolution  form  part  of  the  organ  of  Imitation .''  and,  Does  its 
extreme  developement  exalt  the  talent  for  mimicry,  to  such  a 
degree  as  to  personify  simple  ideas,  and  to  give  them,  thus  meta- 
morphosed, a  locality,  out  of  the  individual  .''  or,  Does  it  constitute 
parts  both  of  Ideality  and  Imitation  .''  or,  finally,  Does  it  constitute 
a  separate  organ  ?  These  points  can  be  determined  only  by 
farther  researches."! 

Sir  Walter  Scott  observes,  that  "  no  man  ever  succeeded  in 
imposing  himself  on  the  public  as  a  supernatural  personage,  who 
was  not  to  a  certain  degree  the  dupe  of  his  own  imposture."! 

Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that  the  organ  appears  large  in  the  busts  of 
Socrates,  Joan  of  Arc,  Cromwell,  Swedenborg,  and  other  individ- 
uals by  whom  the  tendency  before  described  has  been  manifested. 

*  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau,  tome  v.  p.  346. 
t  Life  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  vol.  iv.  p.  88. 


294 


In  the  portrait  of  Tasso,  it  and  Ideality  both  appear  largely- 
developed. 


'mm 


Dr.  Spurzhelm,  in  his  recent  work  "  Phrenology,"*  observes, 
"  There  is  still  a  sentiment  which  exerts  a  very  great  influence 
over  religious  conceptions,  and  which,  in  my  opinion,  contributes 
more  than  Veneration  to  rehgious  faith.  Some  find  all  things  natu- 
ral, and  regulated  by  the  laws  of  creation;  many  others  are  amused 
with  fictions,  tales  of  wonders,  and  miraculous  occurrences.  They 
find  in  every  passing  event  extraordinary  and  wonderful  circum- 
stances, and  are  constantly  searching  after  whatever  can  excite 
admiration  and  astonishment.  This  sentiment  is  to  be  'observed 
among  mankind  at  large,  both  among  savages  and  civilized  nations. 
In  every  age,  and  under  every  sky,  man  has  been  guided  and  led 
by  his  credulity  and  superstition.  The  founders  of  all  nations  have 
had  a  fabulous  origin  ascribed  to  them,  and  in  all  countries  miracu- 
lous traditions  and  marvellous  stories  occur  in  ample  abundance. 
There  are  many  disposed  to  believe  in  dreams,  sorcery,  magic, 
astrology,  in  the  mystic  influence  of  spirits  and  angels,  in  the 
power  of  the  devil,  in  second  sight,  and  in  miracles  and  incompre- 
hensible representations  of  all  sorts.  Some,  also,  are  disposed  to 
have  visions,  and  to  see  ghosts,  demons,  and  phantoms.  This 
sentiment  gains  credence  to  the  true  and  also  to  the  false  prophet, 
aids  superstition,  but  is  also  essential  to  faith  and  refined  rehgion. 
It  is  more  or  less  active,  not  only  in  different  individuals,  but  also 
in  whole  nations.  Its  functions  are  often  disordered,  constituting 
one  species  of  insanity. 

"  The  legislators  of  antiquity,  aware  of  the  great  influence  of  this 
faculty,  made  frequent  use  of  it  to  enforce  and  to  confirm  tlieir  laws- 


WONDER  295 

They,  spoke  in  the  name  of  God,  of  angels,  or  of  supernatural 
powers.  In  our  own  days,  the  rehgious  sects  of  Swedenborgians, 
Methodists,  Quakers,  and  many  others,  particularly  demonstrate  its 
influence  and  presence.  In  dramatic  representations,  the  introduc- 
tion of  ghosts,  angels,  transformations,  and  supernatural  events, 
proclaims  its  activity  both  in  the  author,  and  in  the  public,  by 
whom  such  exhibitions  are  relished  and  sought  after. 

"  The  existence  of  this  feeling  is  certain.  Its  organ  is  situated 
anterior  to  Hope,  and  a  great  developement  of  the  convolutions  on 
which  it  depends,  enlarges,  and  elevates  the  superior  and  lateral 
parts  of  the  frontal  bone.  It  is  remarkably  prominent  in  the  heads 
of  Socrates,  of  Torquato  Tasso,  Dr.  Price,  Young  Stilling,  Wes- 
ley, &c.  My  observations  on  it  are  extremely  numerous,  and  I 
consider  it  as  established." 

My  own  observations  on  this  organ  are  the  following. — I  have 
met  with  persons  excessively  fond  of  news,  which,  if  extravagant, 
were  the  more  acceptable;  prone  to  the  expression  of  surprise  and 
astonishment  in  ordinary  discoiu'se;  deeply  affected  by  tales  of 
wonder;  delighting  in  the  Arabian  Nights'  Entertainments,  and  the 
mysterious  incidents  abounding  in  the  Waverley  Novels ;  and  in 
them  I  have  uniformly  found  the  part  of  the  brain  in  question  large- 
ly developed.  When  the  organ  predominates  in  an  individual, 
there  is  a  peculiar  look  of  Wonder,  and  an  unconscious  turning  up 
of  the  exterior  angles  of  the  eye-lashes,  expressive  of  surprise.  In 
other  persons,  I  have  found  the  part  of  the  brain  in  question  small, 
and  in  them  it  was  accompanied  with  a  staid  soberness  of  feeling, 
diametrically  the  opposite  of  the  manifestations  above  described. 
Such  individuals  were  annoyed  by  every  thing  new  or  strange ; 
they  scarcely  felt  or  expressed  sm^prise^  and  had  no  taste  for  narra- 
tives leaving  the  beaten  track  of  probability  or  reality,  and  soaring 
into  the  regions  of  supernatural  fiction.  On  analyzing  these  man- 
ifestations, they  all  appear  to  be  referrible  to  the  sentiment  of 
Wonder,  an  emotion  wliich  is  quite  distinguishable  from  those 
hitherto  enumerated. 

Philosophers  have  long  been  puzzled  to  account  for  the  circum- 
stance, that  a  particular  form  of  furniture  or  dress  is  pleasing,  and 


296  WONDER 

is  regarded  as  even  beautifd,  when  first  introduced,  but  that  it 
appears  ridiculous  and  antiquated,  after  it  has  been  superseded  by 
a  newer  fashion.  Probably  one  cause  of  this  feeling  may  be  found 
in  the  faculty  now  under  consideration;  and  the  agreeable  impres- 
sions made  on  it  by  new  objects,  may  be  one  source  of  the  gratifi- 
cation which  a  change  of  fashion  affords.  Love  of  Approbation 
unquestionably  prompts  multitudes  to  folloio  the  fashion,  without 
much  rehsh  for  novelty  itself ;  but  some  individuals  must  take  the 
lead,  and  there  must  be 'some  principle  in  the  mind  to  be  gratified 
by  mere  change,  which  excites  them  to  do  so;  and  Wonder  may 
contribute  to  this  effect.  Indeed,  as  every  faculty  has  a  useftil  and 
legitimate  sphere  of  action,  I  am  disposed  to  infer,  that  the  legit- 
imate tendency  of  this  sentiment  is  to  inspire  the  mind  with  a 
longing  after  novelty  in  every  thing,  and  that  its  proper  effect  is  to 
stimulate  to  invention  and  improvement.  Fashion  is  not  a  real  ele- 
ment of  beauty  in  external  objects;  and  to  persons  who  possess  a 
good  endowment  of  Form,  Constructiveness  and  Ideality,  intrinsic 
elegance  is  much  more  pleasing  and  permanently  agreeable,  than 
forms  of  less  merit,  recommended  merely  by  being  new.  Henco 
there  is  a  beauty  which  never  palls,  and  there  are  objects  over 
which  fasliion  exercises  no  control.  A  Chinese  teapot  may  bo 
rendered  agreeable,  by  being  fashionable,  but  will  look  ugly  when 
the  mode  changes;  while  a  vase  of  exquisite  form  will  please  in  all 
countries  and  in  all  ages.  The  teapot  I  conceive  to  owe  its  attrac- 
tions to  the  impression  which  its  novelty  makes  on  the  faculty  of 
Wonder;  but  when  this  has  ceased,  it  is  judged  of  by  its  proper 
quaUties,  and  condemned,  from  the  inelegant  proportions  being 
then  criticised  by  the  eye  of  taste;  while  the  vase,  by  gratifying 
the  faculties  which  take  cognizance  of  intrinsic  beauty,  continues 
always  to  please.  This  view  is  strengthened  by  the  fact,  that  the 
greatest  votaries  of  fashion  have  frequently  execrably  bad  taste  ;  a 
result  perfectly  accordant  with  the  supposition,  that  the  mere  love 
of  novelty  is  the  chief  element  in  this  disposition. 

The  French  in  general  possess  a  considerable  developement  of 
the  organs  of  Ideahty,  Wonder,  and  Love  of  Approbation;  and 
they  have  long  been  celebrated  as  leaders  of  fashion.     Their  ordi- 


WONDER.  -  297 

nary  discourse,  also,  is  replete  with  terms  of  admiration  and  appro- 
bation, which  to  Englishmen  appear  excessive.  Every  object  is 
"sMper&e,"  ^'■magnifique;"  and  the  terms  bon,  beau,  excellent^ 
express  such  faint  praise  as  almost  to  imply  disapprobation. 

Captain  Ross,  R.  N.  mentioned  to  me,  that  young  men,  born 
and  bred  up  in  inland  situations,  who  enter  the  Navy  voluntarily, 
generally  possess  a  large  developement  of  this  organ,  the  gratifi- 
cation of  which,  he  inferred,  incites  them  to  choose  the  sea  as  a 
profession. 

According  to  this  view.  Wonder  may  aid  genius,  by  prompting 
to  novelty  in  all  the  conceptions  of  the  mind.  Dr.  Samuel  John- 
son is  strongly  suspected  of  having  believed  in  ghosts  and  appari- 
tions, which  indicates  an  excessive  endowment  of  this  faculty;  and 
his  style  is  full  of  new  words  and  unusual  forms  of  expression,  to 
which  he  was  probably  led  by  the  same  feehng.  Dr.  Chalmers 
also  shows  a  strong  tendency  to  coin  new  vocables,  and  occasion- 
ally to  give  strange  turns  to  his  discourse  ;  which  perhaps  origin- 
ates from  Wonder  acting  with  Comparison,  as  his  brilliancy  and 
elevation  spring  chiefly  from  Ideality.  Mr.  Tennant,  the  author  of 
Anster  Fair,  and  Mr.  Hazlitt,  show  some  degree  of  the  same  dis- 
position in  their  writings  ;  and  I  have  observed  the  organ  full  in 
both  of  their  heads.  The  faculty  prompts,  as  Dr.  Spurzheim 
remarks,  to  the  use  of  machinery  in  poetry,  and  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  supernatural  agency.  In  the  portraits  of  Shakspeare,  and 
the  busts  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  it  is  large.  The  following  lines  of 
the  poet  Akenside  finely  delineate  the  manifestations  of  the  senti- 
ment of  Wonder: — 

"  Witness  the  sprightly  joy,  when  aught  unknown 
Strikes  the  quick  sense,  and  wakes  each  active  power 
To  brisker  measures.     Witness  the  neglect 
Of  all  familiar  prospects,  though  beheld 
With  transports  once  ; — the  fond  attentive  gaze 
Of  young  astonishment; — the  sober  zeal 
Of  age  commenting  on  prodigious  things, — 
For  such  the  bounteous  providence  of  Heaven, 
In  every  breast  implanting  the  desire 
Of  objects  new  and  strange,  to  urge  us  on 
With  unremitted  labor  to  pursue 

38 


298  WONDER. 

Those  sacred  stores,  that  wait  the  ripening  soul 
In  truth's  exhaustless  bosom.     What  need  words 
To  paint  its  power  ?     For  this  the  daring  youth 
Breaks  from  his  weeping  mother's  anxious  arms,  ' 
In  foreign  climes  to  rove :  the  pensive  sage, 
Heedless  of  sleep,  or  midnight's  harmful  damp, 
Hangs  o'er  the  sickly  taper ;  and,  untired. 
The  virgin  follows,  with  enchanted  step, 
The  mazes  of  some  wild  and  wondrous  tale 
From  morn  to  eve.     Hence,  finally,  by  night. 
The  village  matron,  round  the  blazing  hearth, 
Suspends  the  infant  audience  with  her  tales. 
Breathing  astonishment !    Of  witcliing  rhymes, 
And  evil  spirits  ;  of  the  death-bed  call 
Of  him  who  robbed  the  widow,  and  devoured 
The  orphan's  portion;  of  unquiet  souls 
Risen  from  the  grave  to  ease  the  heavy  guilt 
Of  deeds  in  life  concealed ;  of  shapes  that  walk 
At  dead  of  night,  and  clank  their  chains,  and  wave 
The  torch  of  hell  around  the  murderer's  bed. 
At  every  solemn  pause,  the  crowd  recoil 
Gazing  each  other  speechless,  and  congealed 
With  shivering  sighs  ;  till,  eager  for  the  event, 
Around  the  beldame  all  erect  they  hang, 
Each  trembling  heart  with  grateful  terrors  quelled." 

Dr.  Spurzheim  concludes  his  account  of  this  faculty  with  the 
following  remarks.  "The  preceding  facts,"  says  he,  "determined 
me  formerly  to  designate  this  feeling  by  the  name  of  Supernatu- 
rality;  and  it  is  certain  that  it  is  principally  manifested  by  a  belief 
in  miraculous  and  supernatural  circumstances,  in  the  foundation 
of  religion  by  supernatural  means,  and  in  its  dogmatical  points. 
As,  however,  the  feeling  may  be  applied  both  to  natural  and  super- 
natural events,  and  in  every  case  fills  the  mind  with  amazement 
and  surprise,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  change  the  name  of  Supernatu- 
rality  into  that  of  Marvellousness.  This  name  I  prefer  to  that 
of  Wonder^  adopted  by  Mr.  Combe,  because,  according  to  Dr. 
Johnson's  Dictionary,  wonder  is  applicable  only  to  surprise  excited 
by  natural  objects,  whilst  marvellousness  embraces  both  kinds  of 
astonishment  caused  by  natural  and  supernatural  circumstances." 

When  Dr.  Spurzheim  observes,  in  the  foregoing  passage,  that 
this  faculty  is  '■'■principally  manifested  by  a  belief  in  miraculous 


WONDER.  299 

and  supernatural  circumstances,"  I  do  not  understand  him  to  mean 
that  this  belief  is  its  legitimate  function.  The  period  when  Divine 
Power  manifested  itself  by  extraordinary  means  was  brief,  and  is 
long  since  past ;  and  philosophy  cannot  acknowledge  any  object  or 
event  that  occurs  in  the  present  day  as  miraculous  or  supernatural: 
a  special  faculty,  therefore,  for  beHef  in  such  objects  appears  inad- 
missible. The  fact,  however,  mentioned  by  Dr.  Spurzheim,  that 
persons  in  whom  this  organ  is  large  have  a  natural  disposition  to 
believe  in  the  wonderful  and  miraculous  is  certain.  Some  indi- 
viduals, so  endowed,  have  informed  me,  that  when  any  marvellous 
circumstance  is  communicated  to  them,  the  tendency  of  their  minds 
is  to  believe  it  icithout  examination ;  and  that  an  effort  of  philos- 
ophy is  necessary  to  resist  the  beUef,  instead  of  evidence  being 
requisite  to  produce  it.  This  tendency  appears  to  me  to  arise 
from  too  great  energy  in  this  faculty,  not  directed  by  reflection;  but 
it  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  idea,  that  the  primary  sentiment  is 
that  of  Wonder.  Every  propensity  and  sentiment  desires  objects 
suited  to  afford  it  gratification  ;  Acquisitiveness  longs  for  wealth, 
Love  of  Approbation  for  praise;  and,  in  like  manner,  Wonder  will 
ardently  desire  the  marvellous.  Individuals,  therefore,  in  whom 
the  organ  is  large,  will  delight  in  extraordinary  narratives,  and  the 
pleasure  felt  in  them  will  render  the  intellect  little  prone  to  a  severe 
scrutiny  of  their  truth;  hence  the  tendency  to  believe  in  such  com- 
munications is  easily  accounted  for.  Still,  however,  this  longing 
for  the  marvellous  appears  to  be  an  abuse  of  the  sentiment.  Phil- 
osophy does  not  recognise  the  "supernatural,''  while  it  admits 
surprise  at  new  and  extraordinary  circumstances  as  a  legitimate 
state  of  mind.  With  the  greatest  deference  to  Dr.  Spurzheim, 
therefore.  Wonder  appears  to  me  to  be  the  more  correct  name  for 
this  faculty ;  and  in  this  analysis  I  am  supported  by  the  authority 
of  the  metaphysicians. 

This  organ,  in  a  state  of  exaltation,  is  the  great  fountain  of 
fanaticism  in  religion.  When  largely  developed,  it  is  liable  to 
energetic  activity,  from  its  mere  physical  size,  and  the  impressions 
which  it  then  excites  are  mistaken  by  persons  ignorant  of  its  nature 
for  direct  communications  from  heaven,  and  reason  is  contemned. 


300  WONDER. 

It  is  then  also  liable  to  be  vividly  called  in;o  action  by  external 
communications  of  a  marvellous  and  fanatical  character,  and  hence 
the  vs^ildest  dogmatist  pretending  to  superior  illumination,  finds  no 
difficulty  in  drawing  after  him  a  crowd  of  devoted  admirers. 

D|:.  Adam  Smith,  in  the  History  of  Astronomy,*  calls  Wonder 
a  sentiment,  and  attempts  to  distinguish  it  from  surprise.  "We 
loonder^^''  he  says,  "  at  all  extreme  and  uncommon  objects  ;  at  all 
the  rarer  phenomena  of  nature  ;  at  meteors,  comets,  eclipses  ;  at 
singular  plants  and  animals  ;  and  at  every  thing,  in  short,  with 
which  we  have  before  been  either  little,  or  not  at  all  acquainted; 
and  we  still  wonder,  though  forewarned  of  what  we  are  to  see." 

"We  are  surprised^''''  he  continues,  "  at  those  things  which  we 
have  seen  ojten^  but  which  we  least  of  all  expected  to  meet  with 
in  the  place  where  we  find  them  ;  we  are  surprised  at  the  sudden 
appearance  of  a  friend,  whom  we  have  seen  a  thousand  times,  but 
whom  we  did  not  imagine  we  were  to  see  there." 

Dr.  Thomas  Brown  f  also  admits  Wonder  as  a  primitive  emo- 
tion, and  contends  with  success,  that  surprise  and  wonder  are 
intrinsically  the  same  feeling,  only  excited  by  different  objects  or 
occurrences.  We  wonder  at  the  comet,  from  its  novelty  ;  we  are 
surprised  to  meet  a  friend  in  Edinburgh,  whom  we  believed  to  be 
in  London  ;  but  it  is  the  novel  and  unexpected  situation  in  which 
we  meet  him,  that  causes  the  surprise,  and  not  his  appearance  itself. 

Dr.  Brown  J  somewhat  strangely  observes,  that  "it  seems  most 
probable  that  the  feeling  of  iconder,  which  now  attends  any  strik- 
ing event  that  is  unexpected  by  us,  would  not  arise  in  the  infant 
mind  on  the  occurrence  of  events,  all  of  which  might  be  regarded 
as  equally  new  to  it;  since  wonder  implies,  not  the  mere  feeling  of 
novelty^  but  the  knowledge  of  some  other  circumstances^  which 
were  expected  to  occur,  and  is,  therefore,  I  conceive,  inconsistent 
with  absolute  ignorance.''''  The  facts  which  we  daily  observe 
prove  the  very  opposite  of  this  doctrine.  The  organ  of  Wonder 
existing,  every  new  object  excited  it,  and  calls  forth  the  emotion; 
and  hence  the  greater  the  ignorance,  the  more  frequent  and  more 
intense  the  astonishment,  for  then  every  occurrence  is  novel. 

*  Page  2.  t  Vol.  iii.  p.  59.  X  Vol.  iii.  p  55. 


WONDER.  301 

Dr.  Brown  *  observes  more  justly,  that  "  we  may  be  struck  at 
the  same  time  with  the  beauty  or  grandeur  of  a  new  object,  and 
our  mixed  emotion  of  the  novelty  and  beauty  combined,  will  obtain 
the  name  of  admiration.''^ 

Mr.  Stewart  and  Dr.  Reid  do  not  treat  of  this  emotion. 

The  subject  of  visions  is  still  attended  with  considerable  diffi- 
culty. I  have  met  with  cases  similar  to  those  recorded  by  Drs. 
Gall  and  Spurzheim.  In  London  Bedlam,  I  examined  the  head 
of  a  patient  whose  insanity  consisted  in  seeing  phantoms,  and  being 
led  to  act  as  if  they  were  realities  ;  although,  as  he  himself  stated, 
he  was  convinced  by  his  understanding  at  the  very  time,  that  they 
were  mere  illusions  ;  but  could  not  regulate  his  conduct  by  this 
conviction.  In  him  the  organ  of  Form  was  well  developed,  and 
that  of  Wonder  was  decidedly  large.  When  asked  whether  he 
experienced  any  sensation  in  the  head  when  afflicted  with  visions, 
he  pointed  to  the  spot  on  each  side  where  the  organ  of  Wonder  is 
situated,  and  said  that  he  felt  an  uneasy  sensation  there. 

In  the  Richmond  Lunatic  Asylum  in  Dublin,  I  saw  several 
patients  in  whom  this  organ  predominates,  and  whose  insanity 
consisted  in  believing  themselves  to  be  supernatural  Beings,  or 
inspired.     See  Phrenological  Journal,  vol.  vi.  p.  81.  84. 

I  have  also  seen  a  person  in  the  west  of  Scotland,  who  is  liable 
to  spectral  illusions.  He  is  thirty-eight  years  of  age,  in  sound 
health,  remarkably  intelligent,  and  by  no  means  liable  to  extrava- 
gance either  in  his  sentiments  or  ideas.  He  mentioned  that  there 
is  almost  constantly  present  to  his  mind  the  appearance  of  a  carpet 
in  motion,  and  spotted  with  figures.  On  visiting  Glasgow,  he  saw 
a  large  log  of  wood,  mounted  on  two  axles  and  four  wheels,  pass- 
ing along  the  street ;  and  on  returning  home,  the  apparition  of  the 
timber  and  its  vehicle,  with  the  horses,  driver,  &c.  stood  before 
him  in  the  dimensions  and  hues  of  actual  existence.  On  another 
occasion,  he  saw  a  funeral  pass  by  the  bottom  of  Queen  Street, 
Glasgow  ;  and  for  some  time  afterwards,  whenever  he  shut  his  eyes 
or  was  in  darkness,  the  procession  moved  before  his  mind,  as  dis- 
tinctly as  it  had  previously  done  before  his  eyes.    These  are  merely 

*Vol.  iii.p.  57. 


302  WONDER. 

a  few  instances,  out  of  many,  of  objects  and  beings  whom  he  has 
seen  reappearing  to  his  fancy.  He  is  not  conscious  of  the  appear- 
ance of  the  phantom  of  any  object  which  he  has  not  previously 
seen  ;  and  he  is  rarely,  or  almost  never,  troubled  with  these  visions, 
when  actual  existences  are  before  his  eyes  in  broad  light ;  but  at  all 
times  they  appear  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  when  his  eyes  are 
shut,  or  darkness  prevails.  His  head  is  in  general  well  formed  ; 
the  different  organs,  with  the  exception  of  the  organ  of  Wonder 
(which  is  decidedly  large,  and  which  seems  to  be  the  origin  of  this 
affection),  are  fairly  proportioned  ;  the  Knowing  Organs  preponder- 
ating a  little  over  the  Reflecting. 

He  mentioned,  that  this  peculiarity  has  descended  to  his  son. 
Lately,  the  boy  made  up  to  what  he  conceived  to  be  a  beggar- 
man,  and  endeavored  to  speak  to  him.  The  figure  retired ;  and 
the  boy  followed,  till  it  disappeared  at  a  high  wall,  seeming  to  glide 
into  it.  The  boy  ran  up  to  the  wall,  and  groped  it  with  his  hands, 
when  he  discovered  that  the  beggar  was  a  spectral  illusion.  I  had 
not  an  opportunity  of  examining  the  head  of  the  son  ;  but  the  father 
stated,  that,  in  other  respects,  there  was  no  peculiarity  about  his 
mental  constitution. 

This  tendency  of  mind,  occurring  in  remote  and  secluded  dis- 
tricts of  the  Highlands,  has  probably  given  rise  to  the  second  sight. 
The  individual  above  described,  if  placed  in  a  situation  where  his 
chieftain,  his  clansmen,  their  dogs  and  their  flocks,  were  almost  the 
only  animated  objects  presented  to  his  eyes,  would  have  been  visit- 
ed with  frequent  spectral  appearances  of  them.  If,  after  the  occur- 
rence of  such  apparitions,  the  chief  had  been  killed,  or  the  clans- 
men drowned,  or  their  flocks  buried  in  the  snow,  the  coincidence 
would  have  been  marked,  and  the  event  held  to  have  been  predict- 
ed by  an  exercise  of  the  second  sight.  Where  nothing  followed 
the  spectres,  nothing  would  be  said  of  their  appearance,  just  as 
happens  in  the  case  of  dreams.  A  correspondent  of  the  Phren- 
ological Society,*  gives  an  account  of  a  Highland  gentleman,  who 
believed  that  an  apparition  of  the  second  sight  had  occurred  to  him- 
self;  and  he  states,  that,  in  his  head,  the  organ  of  Wonder  is  large. 

*  Nd.  vii.  p.  362. 


IDEALITY.  303 

At  the  same  time,  it  is  difficult  to  comprehend,  how  an  exalted 
state  of  this  organ  should  produce  these  effects,  unless  we  suppose 
it  to  excite  the  organs  of  Form,  Coloring,  &c.  to  activity,  so  as 
to  conjure  up  illusions  fitted  for  the  gratification  of  Wonder  ;  just 
as  involuntary  activity  of  Cautiousness  during  sleep,  excites  the 
intellectual  organs  to  conceive  objects  of  terror,  producing  thereby 
frightful  dreams.  This  theory  is  rendered  probable  by  the  fact, 
that  diseased  excitement  of  the  knowing  organs  produces  spectral 
illusions,  independently  of  an  affection  of  the  organ  of  Wonder. 
Mr.  Simpson  has  communicated  an  admirable  paper  on  this  sub- 
ject to  the  Phrenological  Journal,*  to  which  1  shall  have  occasion 
afterwards  to  refer.  The  natural  language  of  this  faculty  is  nod- 
ding the  head  obliquely  upwards  and  in  the  direction  of  the  organ. 
I  have  observed  a  person  telling  another  in  whom  this  organ  pre- 
dominated a  wonderful  story,  and  at  the  end  of  the  narrative  the 
listener  nodded  his.  head  upwards  two  or  three  times,  and  ejacu- 
lated an  expression  of  surprise.  An  individual  in  whom  the  organ 
is  small  will  not  naturally  do  this. 

The  general  function  of  the  organ  is  regarded  as  ascertained  ; 
but  its  metaphysical  analysis  is  still  incomplete. 


19. IDEALITY. 

This  organ  is  situated  nearly  along  the  lower  edge  of  the  tem- 
poral ridge  of  the  frontal  bone.  Dr.  Gall  gives  the  following 
account  of  its  discovery. 

The  first  poet  whose  head  arrested  his  attention,  on  account  of 
its  form,  was  one  of  his  friends,  who  frequently  composed  extem- 
pore verses  when  least  expected  to  do  so  ;  and  who  had  thereby 
acquired  a  sort  of  reputation,  although  in  other  respects  a  very 
ordinary  person.  His  forehead  immediately  above  the  nose,  rose 
perpendicularly,  then  retreated,  and  extended  itself  a  good  deal 
laterally,  as  if  a  part  had  been  added  on  each  side.  He  recollected 
having  seen  the  same  form  in  the  bust  of  Ovid.     In  other  poets, 

*  No.  vi.  p.  290. 


304  IDEALITY. 

he  did  not  find,  as  a  constant  occurrence,  the  forehead  first  per- 
pendicular and  then  retreating,  so  that  he  regarded  this  shape  as 
accidental ;  but  in  all  of  them  he  observed  the  prominences  in  the 
anterior  lateral  parts  of  the  head,  above  the  temples.  He  began 
then  to  look  upon  these  prominences  as  the  distinctive  marks  of  a 
natural  talent  for  poetry  ;  but  still  he  spoke  to  his  hearers  on  the 
subject  with  a  degree  of  doubt,  especially  as,  at  this  period,  he 
was  not  convinced  that  a  talent  for  poetry  depended  on  a  primitive 
mental  faculty.  He  waited,  therefore,  before  deciding  definitively, 
till  he  had  made  a  greater  number  of  observations. 

A  short  time  afterwards,  he  got  the  head  of  the  poet  Alxinger, 
in  which  this  part  of  the  brain,  and  also  the  organ  of  Adhesiveness, 
were  very  much  developed,  while  the  other  portions  were  so  only 
in  a  small  degree.  A  little  after  this,  the  poet  Junger  died,  and 
Gall  found  the  same  prominences  also  in  his  head.  He  found  the 
same  parts  still  larger  in  the  poet  Blumauer,  with  a  large  organ 
of  Wit.  At  this  time,  Wilhelmine  Maisch  acquired  reputation  at 
Vienna  by  his  poetry  ;  and  the  same  enlargement  was  found  in  his 
head,  above  the  temples.  Dr.  Gall  observed  the  same  organization 
in  Madame  Laroche,  at  Oifenbach,  near  Francfort ;  in  Angelique 
Kaufmann  ;  in  Sophia  Clementina  of  Merklen  ;  in  Klopstock  ;  in 
Schiller,  of  whom  he  had  a  mask  ;  and  also  in  Gesner  of  Zurich. 
In  Berlin  he  continued  to  speak  of  this  organ  still  with  considerable 
reserve,  when  M.  Nicolai  invited  him  and  Dr.  Spurzheim  to  see  a 
collection  of  about  thirty  busts  of  poets  in  his  possession.  They 
found,  in  every  one  of  them,  the  part  in  question  projecting  more 
or  less  considerably,  according  as  the  talent  was  manifested  in  a 
higher  or  lower  degree  in  each  poet.  From  that  moment  he  taught 
boldly,  that  the  talent  for  poetry  depends  on  a  primitive  faculty,  and 
that  it  is  connected  with  this  part  of  the  brain  as  its  special  organ. 

In  Paris,  Dr.  Gall  moulded  the  head  of  Legouve  after  his  death, 
and  found  this  organ  large.  He  and  Dr.  Spurzheim  opened  the 
head  of  the  late  Delille,  and  pointed  out  to  several  physicians  who 
were  present,  the  full  developement  of  the  convolutions  placed 
under  the  external  prominences  at  this  part ;  these  convolutions 
projected  beyond  all  the  others.     Dr.  Gall  preserved  a  cast  of  one 


IDEALITY.  305 

of  the  hemispheres  of  the  brain  ;  so  that  this  statement  may  still  be 
verified.  In  a  pretty  numerous  assemblage,  Dr.  Gall  was  asked 
what  he  thought  of  a  little  man,  who  sat  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  him  ?  As  it  was  rather  dark,  he  said,  that,  in  truth,  he  could 
not  see  him  very  distinctly,  but  that  he  observed,  nevertheless,  the 
organ  of  poetry  extremely  developed.  He  was  then  informed  that 
this  was  the  famous  poet  Francois,  generally  named  Cordonnier, 
from  liis  having  been  bred  a  shoemaker.*  "  If  we  pass  in  review," 
says  Dr.  Gall,  "the  portraits  and  busts  of  the  poets  of  all  ages, 
we  shall  find  this  configuration  of  head  common  to  them  all ;  as 
in  Pindar,  Euripides,  Sophocles,  Heraclides,  Plautus,  Terence, 
Virgil,  TibuUus,  Ovid,  Horace,  Juvenal,  Boccacio,  Ariosto,  Aretin, 
Tasso,  Milton,  Boileau,  J.  B.  Rousseau,  Pope,  Young,  Grosset, 
Voltaire,  Gesner,  Klopstock,  Wieland,"  &c.  Dr.  Bailly,  in  a  letter, 
dated  Rome,  30th  May,  1822,  addressed  to  Dr.  Brayer,  says: 
"  You  may  tell  Dr.  Gall  that  I  have  a  mask  of  Tasso,  taken  from 
nature,  and  that,  although  part  of  the  organ  of  poetry  be  cut  off, 
nevertheless  the  lateral  breadth  of  the  cranium  in  this  direction  is 
enormous." 

The  bust  of  Homer  presents  an  extraordinary  developement  at 
this  part  of  the  head.  It  is  doubted  whether  it  be  authentic  ;  but, 
be  it  real  or  ideal,  the  existence  of  the  prominence  is  remarkable. 
If  it  be  ideal,  why  was  the  artist  led  to  give  this  particular  form, 
which  is  the  only  one  in  accordance  with  nature  ?  If  he  modelled 
the  head  of  the  most  distinguished  poet  of  his  day,  as  the  best 
representative  of  Homer,  the  existence  of  this  developement  is 
still  a  fact  in  favor  of  the  organ. 

We  owe  to  Dr.  Spurzheim  the  correct  analysis  of  this  faculty, 
and  the  very  elegant  and  appropriate  name  by  which  it  is  designated. 
"  It  is  impossible,"  says  he,  "  that  poetry  in  general  should  be 
confined  to  one  single  organ  ;  and  I  therefore  think  that  the  name 
"  Organ  of  Poetry,  (used  by  Dr.  Gall,)  does  not  indicate  the 
essential  faculty." — "  In  every  kind  of  poetry,  the  sentiments  are 

*  A  cast  of  the  head  of  this  individual  is  in  the  Phrenological  Society's  collec- 
tion, Edinburgh,  and  in  De  Ville's,  London.  The  organ  in  question  is  uncom- 
monly large. 

39 


306  IDEALITY. 

exalted,  the  expressions  warm  ;  and  there  must  be  rapture,  inspira- 
tion, what  is  commonly  called  Imagination  or  Fancy." 

This  faculty  produces  the  desire  for  exquisiteness,  or  perfec- 
tion, and  is  delighted  with  what  the  French  call  "  Le  beau  ideal." 
It  is  this  faculty  which  gives  inspiration  to  the  poet.  The  knowing 
and  reflecting  faculties  perceive  qualities  as  they  exist  in  nature  ; 
but  this  faculty  desires,  for  its  gratification,  something  more  exquis- 
itely perfect  than  the  scenes  of  reality.  It  desires  to  elevate  and 
to  endow  with  a  splendid  excellence  every  object  presented  to  the 
mind.  It  stimulates  the  faculties  which  form  ideas  to  create  scenes, 
in  which  every  object  is  invested  with  the  qualities  which  it  delights 
to  contemplate.  It  is  particularly  valuable  to  man  as  a  progressive 
being.  It  inspires  him  with  a  ceaseless  love  of  improvement,  and 
prompts  him  to  form,  and  realize  splendid  conceptions.  It  gives  a 
manner  of  feeling  and  of  thinking,  befitting  the  regions  of  fancy, 
rather  than  the  abodes  of  men.  Hence  those  only  on  whom  it  is 
powerfully  bestowed  can  possibly  be  poets,  and  hence  the  proverb, 
"  poeta  nascitur,  non  fit.'''' 

Those  who  experience  a  difficulty  in  conceiving  what  the  faculty 
is,  may  compare  the  character  of  Blount  with  that  of  Raleigh  in 
Kenilworth  :  "But  what  manner  of  animal  art  thou  thyself,  Ra- 
leigh," said  Tressilian,  "that  thou  boldest  us  all  so  lightly?" — 
"Who  I.-*"  replied  Raleigh,  "An  eagle  am  I,  that  never  will 
think  of  dull  earth,  while  there  is  a  heaven  to  soar  in,  and  a  sun 
to  gaze  upon  ; " — Or  they  may  compare  the  poetry  of  Swift 
with  that  of  Milton  ;  the  metaphysical  writings  of  Dr.  Reid  with 
those  of  Dr.  Thomas  Brown  ;  the  poetry  of  Crabbe  with  that  of 
Byron  ;  or  Dean  Swift's  prose  with  that  of  Dr.  Chalmers. 

It  was  this  faculty,  "  by  whose  aid"  Shakspeare  imagined  the 
characters  of  Ariel  and  Prospero.  Prosperous  concluding  speech 
in  the  Tempest,  is  a  beautiful  specimen  of  the  style  of  writing 
which  it  produces. 

"  I  have  bedimmed 

The  noon-tide  sun,  call'd  forth  the  mutinous  winds, 

And  'twixt  the  green  sea  and  the  azur'd  vault 

Set  roaring  war ;  to  the  dread  rattling  thunder 

Have  I  giv'n  fire,  and  rifted  Jove's  stout  oak 


I 


IDEALITY.  307 

With  his  own  bolt ;  the  strong  bas'd  promontory 

Have  I  made  shake,  and  by  the  spurs  plucked  up 

The  pine  and  cedar  ;  graves  at  my  command 

Have  waked  their  sleepers  ;  open'd  and  let  them  forth 

By  my  so  potent  art.     But  this  rough  magic 

I  here  abjure  ;  and  when  I  have  required 

Some  heavenly  music,  which  even  now  I  do, 

To  work  mine  end  upon  their  senses,  that 

This  airy  charm  is  for ;  I'll  break  my  staff; 

Bury  it  certain  fathoms  in  the  earth ; 

And,  deeper  than  did  ever  plummet  sound, 

I  '11  drown  my  book."  ' 

Individuals  differ  exceedingly  in  regard  to  the  endowment  of 
this  faculty  which  they  possess.  According  to  the  energy  and 
activity  of  it,  poetry  is  prized  or  relished.  I  have  met  individuals 
who  declared  that  they  could  perceive  no  excellence  in  poetical 
compositions,  and  could  derive  no  gratification  from  them ;  and 
yet  such  individuals  were  endowed  with  every  degree  of  under- 
standing and  penetration,  according  as  they  possessed  the  other 
faculties  strongly  or  weakly,  and  were  not  uniformly  deficient, 
either  in  moral  sentiments  or  judgment,  in  proportion  to  their 
want  of  poetic  fire. 

This  faculty  gives  a  peculiar  tinge  to  all  the  other  faculties.  It 
makes  them,  in  every  thing,  aspire  to  Ideality.  A  cast  of  the 
human  head  is  a  plain  transcript  of  nature  ;  a  bust  is  nature,  ele- 
vated and  adorned  by  the  ideality  of  a  Chantry,  a  Joseph,  or  a 
Macdonald.  Add  a  large  developement  of  this  organ  to  the  other 
propensities,  sentiments  and  reflecting  powers,  and  it  expands  the 
field  of  their  interest ;  carries  them  outwards,  and  forwards,  and 
upwards  :  and  causes  them  to  delight  in  schemes  of  improvement. 
In  common  life,  we  easily  distinguish  those  who  have,  from  those 
who  have  not,  a  considerable  endowment  of  it.  The  former  speak, 
in  general,  in  an  elevated  strain  of  language,  and,  when  animated, 
show  a  splendor  of  eloquence  and  of  poetical  feeling,  which  the 
latter  are  never  able  to  command.  It  gives  to  conversation  a 
fascinating  sprightliness  and  buoyancy,  the  very  opposite  of  the 
qualities  expressed  by  the  epithets,  dryness  and  dulness. 

Some  sects  in  religion,  and,  among  others,  that  most  respectable 


308  IDEALITY. 

body  The  Society  of  Friends,  declaim  against  ornament  m  dress, 
furniture,  and  other  modes  of  life ;  they  renounce  these  as  vanity, 
while  they  hold  up  the  solid  and  the  useful  as  alone  worthy  of 
rational  and  immortal  beings.  Now,  this  is  the  natural  feeling  of 
persons  in  whom  Benevolence,  Conscientiousness,  and  Veneration 
are  large,  and  Ideality  very  deficient,- — and  I  have  no  doubt  that 
the  original  propounders  of  these  notions  possessed  this  combina- 
tion ;  but  this  is  not  the  language  of  universal  human  nature,  nor 
of  physical  nature  either.  Where  Ideality  exists  to  a  considerable 
extent,  there  is  an  innate  desire  for  the  beautiful,  and  an  instinctive 
love  and  admiration  of  it ;  and  so  far  from  the  arrangements  of  the 
Creator  in  the  material  world  being  in  opposition  to  it,  he  has  scat- 
tered, in  the  most  profuse  abundance,  objects  calculated,  in  the 
highest  degree,  to  excite  and  gratify  the  feeling.  What  are  the 
flowers  that  deck  the  fields,  combining  perfect  elegance  of  form 
with  the  most  exquisite  loveliness,  delicacy,  and  harmony  of 
tint,  but  objects  addressed  purely  to  Ideality,  and  the  subordinate 
faculties  of  Coloring  and  Form  ?  They  enjoy  not  their  beauty 
themselves,  and  afford  neither  food^  raiment,  nor  protection  to  the 
corporeal  frame  of  man  :  on  this  account,  some  persons  have  been 
led  to  view  them  as  merely  nature's  vanities  and  shows,  possessed 
neither  of  dignity  nor  utility.  But  the  individual  in  whom  Ideality 
is  large,  will  in  rapture  say,  that  they,  and  the  lofty  mountain,  the 
deep  glen,  the  roaring  cataract,  and  all  the  varied  loveliness  of 
hill  and  dale,  fountain  and  fresh  shade,  afford  to  him  the  banquet 
of  the  mind  ;  that  they  pour  into  his  soul  a  stream  of  pleasure  so 
intense,  and  yet  so  pure  and  elevated,  that,  in  comparison  with 
it,  all  the  gratifications  of  sense  and  animal  propensity  sink  into 
insipidity  and  insignificance.  In  short,  to  the  phrenologist,  the 
existence  of  this  faculty  in  the  mind,  and  of  external  objects  fitted 
to  gratify  it,  is  one,  among  numberless  instances,  of  the  boundless 
beneficence  of  the  Creator  towards  man  ;  for  it  is  a  faculty  purely 
of  enjoyment,  one  whose  sole  use  is  to  refine,  and  exah,  and 
extend,  the  range  of  our  other  powers,  to  confer  on  us  higher 
susceptibihties  of  improvement,  and  a  keener  relish  for  all  that  is 
great  and  glorious  in  the  universe. 


IDEALITY.  309 

In  conformity  with  this  view,  the  organ  is  found  to  be  deficient 
in  all  barbarous  and  rude  tribes  of  mankind,  and  large  in  the  nations 
who  have  made  the  highest  advances  in  civilization.  It  is  small  in 
atrocious  criminals ;  and  I  have  observed,  that  persons  who  are 
born  in  the  lower  walks  of  life,  but  whose  talents  and  industry  have 
raised  them  to  wealth,  are  susceptible  of  refinement  in  their  man- 
ners, and  habits,  and  sentiments,  in  proportion  to  the  developement 
of  this  organ,  and  that  of  Love  of  Approbation.  When  it  is  small, 
their  primitive  condition  is  apt  to  stick  to  them  through  life  ;  when 
large,  they  make  rapid  advances,  and  improve  by  every  opportunity 
of  intercourse  with  their  superiors. 

This  faculty,  then,  joined  with  Love  of  Approbation,  and  using 
Constructiveness,  Form,  Coloring,  and  other  knowing  faculties  as 
their  instruments,  produce  all  the  ornaments  of  dress  and  architec- 
ture ;  they  lead  to  the  production  of  poetry,  painting,  sculpture, 
the  fine  and  ornamental  arts.  The  Society  of  Friends,  therefore, 
and  the  followers  of  Mr.  Owen,  who  declaim  against  ornament, 
ask  us  to  shut  up  one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  enjoyment  bes- 
towed upon  us.  An  elegant  vase,  a  couch,  or  chair,  fashioned  in 
all  the  delicacy  of  form  and  proportion  that  Ideality,  aided  by  the 
other  powers,  can  attain,  or  the  human  form  attired  in  dress,  in 
which  grace,  utility,  and  beauty,  are  combined,  are  objects  which 
our  faculties  feel  to  be  agreeable  ;  the  pleasure  arising  from  them 
is  natural,  and  of  so  excellent  a  quality,  that  it  is  at  once  acknow- 
ledged and  approved  of  by  intellect,  and  every  other  faculty  of  the 
mind. 

In  private  life,  Ideality  generally  displays  itself,  as  one  element 
in  producing  correctness  of  taste.  Great  Love  of  Approbation  may 
give  a  passion  for  finery,  but  we  sometimes  see  intended  ornaments 
turn  out  deformities,  through  a  want  of  taste  in  their  selection,  and 
this,  I  conceive,  to  arise  partly,  from  a  defective  endowment  of  the 
faculty  in  question.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  enter  a  house  in 
which  exquisite  taste  reigns  in  every  object,  in  which  each  pardc- 
ular  ornament  is  made  subservient  to  the  general  effect,  and  the 
impression  from  the  whole  is  that  of  a  refined  and  pleasing  elegance, 
we  may  be  almost  certain  of  finding  Love  of  Approbation  combined 


310  IDEALITY. 

with  large  Ideality  in  one  or  both  of  the  possessors.  Indeed, 
where  the  degree  of  wealth  is  equal  in  different  persons,  we  might 
almost  guess  at  the  extent  of  these  two  faculties,  by  the  different 
degrees  of  splendor  in  their  domestic  establishment ;  and  in  cases 
where  homeliness  is  the  prevailing  feature,  while  affluence  is 
enjoyed,  we  may  predicate  a  very  moderate  Ideality  in  the  one  or 
other  of  the  heads  of  the  family.  I  have  frequently  observed,  in 
persons  who,  from  a  humble  origin,  have  become  rich  by  com- 
merce, an  intense  passion  for  this  species  of  domestic  splendor, 
and,  without  a  single  exception,  I  have  remarked  Love  of  Appro- 
bation and  Ideality  largely  developed  in  their  heads. 

The  Plate  represents  the  organ  large  in  Chaucer,  Shakspeare, 
Rousseau,  and  deficient  in  Locke  and  William  Cobbett. 

The  relish  for  poetry  or  the  fine  arts  is  generally  in  proportion 
to  the  developement  of  Ideality.  It  is  necessary  to  a  player  of 
tragedy.  The  tone  or  note  of  voice  suitable  to  Ideality  is  elevated 
and  majestic,  and  hence  it  is  essential  to  enable  the  actor  to  feel 
and  express  the  greatness  of  the  personages  whom  he  represents. 

In  some  individuals  the  front  part  of  this  organ  is  most  devel- 
oped, in  others  the  back  part  ;  and  from  a  few  cases  which  I  have 
observed,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  latter  is  a  separate 
organ.  The  back  part  is  left  without  a  number  on  the  bust,  and 
a  point  of  interrogation  is  inscribed  on  it,  to  denote  that  the  function 
is  a  subject  of  inquiry.  The  back  part  touches  Cautiousness  ;  and 
I  suspect  an  excitement  of  this  organ,  in  a  moderate  degree,  is  an 
ingredient  in  the  emotion  of  the  sublime.  The  roar  of  thunder, 
or  of  a  cataract ;  the  beetling  cliff  suspended  half  way  betwixt  the 
earth  and  heaven,  and  threatening  to  spread  ruin  by  its  fall, — im- 
press the  mind  with  feelings  of  terror  ;  and  it  is  only  such  objects 
that  produce  the  sentiment  of  sublimity.  It  would  be  interesting 
to  take  two  individuals  with  equal  Ideality,  but  the  one  possessed 
of  much,  and  the  other  of  little.  Cautiousness,  to  the  Vale  of 
Glencoe,  the  Pass  of  Borrowdale,  the  Cave  of  Staffa,  or  some 
other  scene  in  which  the  elements  of  the  sublime  predominate,  and 
to  mark  their  different  emotions.  I  suspect  the  large  Cautiousness 
would  give  the  most  profound  and  intense  emotions  of  sublimity. 


^^\. 


^^m^' 


3^: 


%^: 


!*''*COUBS'l"^ 


'-^-■XKorSSiE-^ 


■  f,ycu.BcsiciL.je:!4^ 


IDEALITY.  311 

This  faculty,  like  all  others,  may  be  abused.  When  permitted 
to  take  the  ascendency  of  the  other  powers,  and  to  seek  its  own 
gratification,  to  the  neglect  of  the  serious  duties  of  life,  and  when 
cultivated  to  so  great  an  excess  as  to  produce  a  finical  and  sickly 
refinement,  it  then  becomes  a  source  of  great  evils.  It  appears 
in  Rousseau  to  have  reached  this  state  of  diseased  excitement. 
"The  impossibility  of  finding  actual  beings  (worthy  of  himself), 
threw  me,"  says  he,  "into  the  regions  of  fancy  ;  and  seeing  that 
no  existing  object  was  worthy  of  my  delirium,  I  nourished  it  in  an 
ideal  world,  which  my  creative  imagination  soon  peopled  to  my 
heart's  desire.  In  my  continual  ecstasies,  I  drank  in  torrents  of 
the  most  dehcious  sentiments  which  ever  entered  the  heart  of  man. 
Forgetting  altogether  the  human  race,  I  made  society  for  myself 
of  perfect  creatures,  as  celestial  by  their  virtues  as  their  beauties, 
and  of  sure,  tender,  and  faithful  friends,  such  as  I  have  never  seen 
here  below.  I  took  such  delight  in  gliding  along  the  air  with  the 
charming  objects  with  which  I  surrounded  myself,  that  I  passed 
hours  and  days  without  noting  them  ;  and  losing  the  recollection 
of  every  thing,  scarcely  had  I  eaten  a  morsel,  but  I  burned  to 
escape,"  and  return  to  this  enchanted  world.  The  theory  of  this 
condition  of  mind  appears  to  be  this  :  Rousseau  elevated  every 
faculty  in  his  imaginary  personages,  till  it  reached  the  standard  of 
excellence  fitted  to  please  his  large  Ideality,  and  then  luxuriated  in 
contemplation  of  the  perfection  which  he  had  created. 

In  common  life,  the  passion  for  dress,  ornament,  and  finery, 
which  in  some  individuals  goes  beyond  all  reasonable  bounds,  and 
usurps  the  place  of  the  serious  and  respectable  virtues,  results 
from  an  abuse  of  Ideality,  Wonder,  and  Love  of  Approbation,  and 
is  generally  combined  with  a  deficient  developement  of  Conscien- 
tiousness and  Reflection. 

In  an  hospital.  Dr.  Gall  found  this  organ  considerably  developed 
in  a  man  who  was  insane  ;  and  remarked  to  the  physicians  who 
accompanied  him,  that  he  observed  the  exterior  sign  which  indi 
cated  a  talent  for  poetry.  The  patient,  in  point  of  fact,  possessed 
this  talent ;  for  in  his  state  of  alienation,  he  continually  composed 
verses,  which   sometimes  were  not    deficient  in  point  and  vigor. 


312  ideality/ 

He  belonged  to  the  lowest  class,  and  had  received  no  education. 
In  the  collection  of  M.  Esquirol,  Dr.  Gall  saw  a  mask  of  ar 
insane  person,  who  also  was  habitually  occupied  in  versifying  ;  and 
in  it  the  organ  in  question  is  considerably  larger  than  any  of  the 
others. 

This  faculty  corresponds  in  some  degree  to  that  of  "  Taste," 
admitted  by  Mr.  Stewart ;  only  he  regards  taste  as  one  of  the 
powers  acquired  by  habits  of  study  or  of  business. 

Dr.  Thomas  Brown  *  treats  of  beauty  as  an  original  emotion  of 
the  mind,  and  his  doctrine  might,  with  the  change  of  names,  be 
almost  adopted  by  the  phrenologist  in  speaking  of  Ideality.  Accord- 
ing to  our  doctrine,  the  knowing  and  reflecting  faculties  perceive 
objects,  as  they  exist  in  nature,  say  a  landscape,  or  a  Grecian 
temple  ;  and  the  faculty  of  Ideality,  excited  into  activity  by  their 
features,  glows  with  a  delightful  and  elevated  emotion  ;  and  to  the 
qualities  in  the  external  objects  which  kindle  this  lively  sentiment 
of  pleasure,  we  ascribe  the  attribute  of  beauty.  Beauty,  therefore, 
as  a  strong  emotion,  is  enjoyed  only  when  the  knowing  and  reflect- 
ing faculties  act  in  conjunction  with  Ideality.  If  the  intellect  acts 
alone.  Ideality  remaining  quiescent,  no  vivid  feeling  of  beauty  will 
be  experienced  ; — or,  if  a  person  is  extremely  deficient  in  Ideality, 
then  the  most  lovely  objects  in  external  nature  will  appear  to  him 
invested  in  all  their  attributes  of  form,  color,  size,  and  relative 
position  ;  but  he  will  never  thrill  with  that  sublime  emotion,  or  that 
ecstatic  delight,  which  draws  forth  the  exclamation  that  the  object 
contemplated  is  exquisitely  beautiful.  Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  in 
perfect  conformity  with  this  doctrine,  says,  "  You  are  now  in  no 
danger  of  confounding  that  view  of  Beauty,  which  regards  it  as  an 
emotion,  dependent  on  the  existence  of  certain  previous  perceptions 
or  conceptions,  which  may  induce  it ;  but  may  also,  by  the  oper- 
ation of  the  common  laws  of  suggestion,  induce,  at  other  times,  in 
like  manner,  oi/ier  states  of  mind,  exclusive  of  that  emotion, — with 
the  very  different  doctrine,  that  regards  beauty  as  the  object  of  a  - 
peculiar  internal  sense,  which  might,  therefore,  from  the  analogy 
conveyed  in  that  name,  be  supposed  to  be  uniform  in  its  feelings, 
*  Vol.  iii.  p.  134  5. 


IDEALITY.  313 

as  our  other  senses,  on  the  presence  of  their  particular  objects,  are 
uniform,  or  nearly  uniform,  in  the  intimations  afforded  by  them. 
Such  a  sense  of  beauty,"  says  hs,  "as  a  fixed  regular  object,  we 
assuredly  have  not ;  but  it  does  not  follow,  that  we  are  without 
such  an  original  susceptibility  of  a  mere  emotion,  that  is  not,  like 
sensation,  the  direct  and  uniform  effect  of  the  presence  of  its 
objects,  but  may  vary  in  the  occasions  on  which  it  rises,  like  our 
other  emotions ;  love,  for  example,  or  hate,  or  astonishment, 
which  various  circumstances  may  produce,  or  vaiious  circum- 
stances may  prevent  from  ai'ising. " 

If  Dr.  Brown  had  added  to  his  theory,  that  some  individuals 
possess  from  nature  a  great  susceptibility  of  experiencing  the 
emotion  of  beauty,  while  others  appear  almost  insensible  to  it,  as 
is  the  case  also  with  the  emotions  of  love,  hate,  and  astonishment, 
which  he  mentions,  and  that  this  constitutional  difference  is  one 
great  cause  of  the.  different  perceptions  of  beauty  enjoyed  by 
different  persons,  he  w^ould  have  rendered  his  explanation  of  the 
phenomena  nearly  complete. 

Mr.  Stewart  has  written  an  Essay  on  Beauty,  in  which  he 
arrives  at  the  conclusion,  that  this  word  does  not  denote  one 
single  and  simple  emotion  only,  but  that,  in  a  variety  of  instances, 
in  which  external  objects  excite  agreeable  feelings,  they  are  said  to 
be  beautiful,  although  the  kinds  of  emotion  which  they  call  forth  are 
very  different.  Thus,  it  is  correct  speech  to  call  a  mathematical 
theorem  beautiful,  a  rose  beautiful,  and  a  lovely  woman  beautiful ; 
yet  the  qualities  of  these  three  objects,  and  the  kinds  of  emotion 
which  they  excite,  are  so  different,  that  they  have  no  common 
property,  except  that  of  the  feeling  excited  by  all  of  them  being 
agreeable. 

Mr.  Stewart  appears  to  be  correct  in  this  observation,  and  it  is 
valuable,  in  so  far  as  it  directs  our  attention  to  the  vagueness  of 
the  word  beauty  ;  but  it  throws  no  light  on  the  theory  of  the 
beautiful  itself.  Phrenology,  however,  enables  us  to  supply  Mr. 
Stewart's  deficiency  in  this  respect.  Every  faculty  is  gratified 
with  contemplating  the  objects  to  which  it  is  naturally  related.  An 
elevated  hymn  pleases  the  faculty  of  Veneration,  and  is,  on  account 
40 


314  IDEALITY. 

of  raising  this  delight,  pronounced  to  be  beautiful.  A  symmetrical 
figure  gratifies  the  faculty  of  Form,  and,  on  account  of  the  pleasure 
it  produces,  is  also  termed  beautiful.  A  closely  logical  discourse 
pleases  Causality  and  Comparison,  and  on  this  account  is  also  said 
to  be  beautiful.  Hence,  the  inventors  of  language,  little  prone 
to  nice  and  metaphysical  distinctions,  framed  the  word  beauty,  to 
express  only  the  general  emotion  of  pleasure,  of  a  calm  and  refined 
nature,  arising  in  the  mind,  on  contemplating  a  variety  of  outward 
objects  ;  and  in  this  sense  a  person  may  be  alive  to  beauty,  who 
enjoys  a  very  imperfect  endowment  of  Ideality.  But  the  function 
of  this  faculty  is  to  produce  a  peculiarly  grand  and  intense  emotion 
of  a  delightful  nature,  on  surveying  certain  qualities  in  external 
objects  ;  and  it  surpasses  so  vastly  in  strength  and  sublimity,  the 
feelings  of  beauty  commmiicated  by  the  other  faculties,  that  it  may 
itself  be  regarded  as  the  fountain  of  this  delightful  emotion,  and  be 
styled  the  Faculty  of  the  emotion  of  Beauty.  When  active  from 
internal  causes  it  desires  beauty,  splendor,  grandeur,  and  perfec- 
tion, for  its  gratification,  and  prompts  the  other  faculties  to  produce 
and  seek  out  objects  invested  with  these  qualities. 

The  question  has  been  much  agitated.  What  constitutes  poetry .'' 
The  answer  afforded  by  Phrenology  is,  that  the  elements  of  poetry 
are  all  the  feelings  and  perceptions  of  the  human  faculties,  and  all 
their  productions  embued  with  the  quality  of  Ideality.  Ideality 
itself  is  a  primitive  emotion,  which  may  be  described  but  cannot 
be  defined.  It  harmonizes,  and  may  therefore  blend  with  every 
emotion,  conception,  and  production,  whose  striking  qualities  are 
not  in  opposition  to  its  own  nature.  If  it  be  the  feeling  of  the 
beautiful,  then  it  will  naturally  combine  with  the  highest  and  best 
manifestations  and  productions  of  the  other  faculties,  and  stand 
opposed  to  all  imperfection. 

By  communicating  the  desire  of  perfection.  Ideality  erects  a 
high  standard  in  the  mind,  by  which  to  compare  actual  attainments. 
Viewed  in  this  hght,  it  appears  to  be  an  important  element  in  the 
mental  constitution  of  man,  as  a  progressive  being.  To  the  lower 
animals,  which  cannot  pass  beyond  their  primitive  condition,  a 
desire  of  arriving  at  a  more  perfect  state  would  have  been  a  source 


IDEALITY.  315 

of  pain ;  whereas  to  man,  with  an  undefined  scope  of  improvement 
before  him,  no  feehng  could  be  more  useful  and  delightful.  When 
regulated  by  reason,  the  perfection  which  it  aims  at  is  not  that 
which  belongs  to  God  or  to  superior  Beings ;  but  that  which 
results  from  the  best  action  of  all  the  powers  of  man  as  a  limited 
being. 

Mr.  Jeffrey's  article  on  Beauty,  in  the  Supplement  to  the 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica,*  appears  to  me  to  proceed  on  a  mis- 
conception of  the  theory  of  Dr.  Brown,  and  to  be  unsound  and 
inconsistent  with  human  nature.  Mr.  Jeffrey  conceives  that  all 
"emotions  of  beauty  and  sublimity  must  have  for  their  objects  the 
sufferings  or  enjoyments  of  sentient  beings;"  and  he  rejects,  "as 
intrinsically  absurd  and  incredible,  the  supposition,  that  material 
objects,  which  obviously  do  neither  hurt  nor  delight  the  body, 
should  yet  excite,  by  their  mere  physical  qualities,  the  very 
powerful  emotions  which  are  sometimes  excited  by  the  spectacle 
of  Beauty."  Accordingly  he  lays  it  down,  that  the  pleasure  we 
enjoy  in  contemplating  a  Highland  landscape,  arises  from  asso- 
ciating, with  the  wilds  which  we  gaze  upon,  ideas  of  the  rude  sons 
of  the  mist  and  the  mountain  who  inhabit  them ;  from  our  conjuring 
up,  while  we  look  upon  their  scenes,  recollections  of  their  loves, 
their  hates,  their  strifes,  their  shouts  of  victory,  and  their  lamenta- 
tions over  the  dead  ;  and  from  our  ascribing  the  deHght  occasioned 
by  these  emotions  to  the  external  objects  themselves,  as  their 
cause,  and  conceiving  them  to  possess  the  quality  of  beauty,  when 
in  truth  they  are  only  the  occasions  which  excite  these  other 
emotions  in  our  minds.  In  the  bust  of  Mr.  Jeffrey,  Ideality  is 
not  the  most  prominent  feature ;  but  the  organs  of  Eventuality, 
Comparison,  and  Causality  are  large ;  and  this  combination  would 
produce  precisely  such  a  state  of  mind,  on  surveying  a  mountain- 
pass,  as  he  here  describes.  Ideality  not  being  very  energetic, 
the  emotions  of  sublimity  and  grandeur  would  be  secondary  in 
power;  whereas  Eventuality,  Comparison,  and  Causality,  being 
more  vigorous,  and  in  ceaseless  activity,  would  suggest  a  thousand 
incidents  and   their   relations   connected   with   the    scene.     This 

*  Page  181. 


316  IDEALITY. 

State  of  mind,  however,  would  be  peculiar  to  those  possessing  this 
combination. 

To  put  this  theory  to  the  test  of  experience,  I  accompanied  a 
French  gentleman  to  the  Trosachs,  and  marked  his  emotions  as 
he  stood  right  in  the  gorge  of  the  pass  leading  towards  Loch 
Katrine.  He  was  comparatively  a  stranger  to  the  manners, 
customs,  and  history  of  Scotland  ;  although,  at  the  same  time,  from 
acquaintance  with  English  literature,  he  might  have  possessed  some 
few  ideas  concerning  the  inhabitants  of  the  mountains,  to  associate 
with  the  rocks  which  he  beheld.  He  possessed,  however,  consid- 
erable Ideality,  and  a  cultivated  understanding.  When  the  scene 
burst  upon  him,  in  the  full  effulgence  of  its  glury,  he  stood  in  mute 
astonishment  and  delight,  until  I  asked  him,  What  ideas  were  pass- 
ing in  his  mind.-^  His  answer  was,  "  Mon  Dieu,  je  sens,  et  je  ne 
pense  pas."  I  explained  to  him  the  motive  of  the  question,  and  he 
declared  that  he  experienced  only  emotions  of  the  most  intense  and 
elevating  kind  ;  that  every  nerve  tlirilled  with  pleasure,  and  that  he 
thought  of  nothing,  but  resigned  himself  entirely  to  these  delightful 
sensations.  On  analyzing  his  emotions  he  said,  that  he  felt  his 
mind  excited  to  rapture,  by  the  richness  and  exquisite  elegance 
of  the  trees  and  shrubs  with  which  the  mountains  were  clothed  ; 
that  his  soul  was  awed  into  sublimity,  by  the  stupendous  cliffs 
which  towered  in  magnificence  to  the  clouds  ;  and  that  even  the 
chill  of  fear  crept  silently  along  his  nerves,  as  the  projecting  pre- 
cipices were  perceived  threatening  to  fall,  and  cut  off  communica- 
tion with  the  Avorld  around  :  and  again  he  declaimed,  that  he  thought 
not,  and  cared  not,  who  inhabited  the  wilds,  until  the  force  of  the 
first  and  most  exquisite  impression  was  spent ;  and  then  his  mind 
began  to  be  occupied  with  ideas  of  collateral  objects,  or  coolly  to 
think,  and  every  moment  thereafter  the  impression  diminished  in 
intensity,  and  at  last  ceased  entirely  to  be  felt. 

On  another  occasion  I  accompanied  a  gentleman,  also  of  educa- 
tion and  a  cultivated  understanding,  but  with  little  Ideality,  to  the 
same  spot.  He  looked  calmly  around  and  observed:  "Pretty 
trees  these  !  High  hills  !  Terrible  uproar  of  elements  been  here  ! 
Diiiicult   pass  for  the  Highlanders!"  &c.  &c.  but  exhibited   no 


IDEALITY.  317 

emotion,  and  no  deep-toned  sentiment  of  the  sublime,  like  the 
other. 

The  first  of  these  instances  showed,  that  the  supposition  "that 
material  objects,  which  obviously  do  neither  hurt  nor  delight  the 
body,  should  yet  excite,  by  their  mere  physical  qualities,  the  very 
powerful  emotions  which  are  sometimes  excited  by  the  spectacle 
of  beauty,"  is  not  quite  so  "intrinsically  absurd  and  incredible," 
as  Mr.  Jeffrey  imagines  ;  while  the  second  instance  indicated  that 
Ideality  is  truly  the  faculty  which  feels  the  beautiful  and  the  sublime, 
and  that,  where  it  is  not  powerful,  the  most  magnificent  scenes  may 
be  regarded  with  pleasure,  but  with  no  intense  feehng  of  beauty. 

In  composition,  this  faculty  imparts  splendor  and  elevation  to 
the  style,  and  it  may  manifest  itself  in  prose  as  well  as  in  poetry. 
The  style  of  Lord  Bacon  is  remarkably  imbued  with  the  splendors 
of  Ideality,  sometimes  to  excess,  while  that  of  Locke  is  as  decid- 
edly plain  ;  and  the  portraits  of  both  show  that  their  heads  corres- 
ponded with  these  difierent  manifestations.  Hazhtt's  head,  which 
I  have  seen,  indicates  a  large  developement  of  Ideality,  and  the 
faculty  glows  in  all  his  compositions.  In  Mr.  Jeffrey's  head,  as 
it  appears  in  the  bust,  it  does  not  predominate.  The  report .  was 
current  at  the  time,  that  the  review  of  Lord  Byron's  Tragedies, 
which  appeared  in  No.  Ixxii.  of  the  Edinburgh  Review  (February 
1822,)  was  the  joint  production  of  these  two  celebrated  authors  ; 
and  keeping  in  view  the  fact,  that  Mr.  Hazlitt's  Ideality  is  larger 
than  Mr.  Jeffrey's,  it  would  not  be  difficult,  by  a  careful  analysis 
of  the  article,  to  assign  to  each  the  sentences  which  he  WTOte. 
Mr.  Jeffrey's  predominating  intellectual  organs  are  Eventuality, 
which  treasures  up  simple  incidents  and  observations ;  Compar- 
ison, which  glances  at  their  analogies  and  relations  ;  and  Causality, 
which  gives  depth  and  logical  consistency  to  the  whole.  Hazlitt, 
on  the  other  hand,  possesses  a  large  Comparison,  respectable  Cau- 
sality, with  a  decidedly  large  Ideality,  elevating  and  adorning  his 
intellectual  conceptions.  Proceeding  on  these  views,  I  would 
attribute  the  following  sentence  to  Jeffrey's  pen,  as  characteristic 
of  his  manner.  Speaking  of  the  qualities  of  Shakspeai-e's  writings, 
the  reviewer  says,  "  Though  time  may  have  hallowed  many  things 


318  IDEALITY. 

that  were  at  first  but  common,  and  accidental  associations  imparted 
a  charm  to  much  that  was  in  itself  indifferent,  we  cannot  but 
believe  that  there  was  an  original  sanctity  which  time  only  matured 
and  extended  ;  and  an  inherent  charm,  from  which  the  association 
derived  all  its  power.  And  when  we  look  candidly  and  calmly  to 
the  works  of  our  eai'ly  dramatists,  it  is  impossible,  we  think,  to 
dispute,  that,  after  criticism  has  done  its  worst  on  them  ;  after  all 
deductions  for  impossible  plots  and  fantastical  characters,  unaccoun- 
table forms  of  speech,  and  occasional  extravagance,  indehcacy,  and 
horrors  ;  there  is  a  facility  and  richness  about  them,  both  of  thought 
and  of  diction  ;  a  force  of  invention,  and  a  depth  of  sagacity  ;  an 
originahty  of  conception,  and  a  play  of  fancy  ;  a  nakedness  and 
energy  of  passion,  and,  above  all,  a  copiousness  of  imagery,  and  a 
sweetness  and  flexibility  of  verse,  which  is  altogether  unrivalled  in 
earher  or  in  later  times  ;  and  places  them,  in  our  estimation,  in  the 
very  highest  and  foremost  place  among  ancient  or  modern  poets."* 
In  this  passage,  we  have  the  minuteness  of  enumeration  of  Event- 
uality, the  discrimination  of  Comparison  and  Causality,  and  the 
good  taste  of  a  fair,  but  none  of  the  elevation,  ornament,  and  in- 
tensity of  a  large,  Ideality.  In  another  part  of  the  same  review, 
we  find  the  following  sentences  :  In  Byron, f  "  there  are  some 
sweet  fines,  and  many  of  great  weight  and  energy  ;  but  the  general 
march  of  the  verse  is  cumbrous  and  unmusical.  His  lines  do  not 
vibrate  like  poHshed  lances,  at  once  strong  and  fight,  in  the  hands 
of  his  persons,  but  are  wielded  fike  clumsy  batons  in  a  bloodless 
affray." — "He  has  too  little  sympathy  with  the  ordinary  feelings 
and  frailties  of  humanity,  to  succeed  well  in  their  representation. 
His  soul  is  fike  a  star,  and  dwells  apart." — "  It  does  not  'hold  the 
mirror  up  to  nature,'  nor  catch  the  hues  of  surrounding  objects; 
but,  like  a  kindled  furnace,  throws  out  its  intense  glare  and  gloomy 
grandeur  on  the  naiTOW  scene  which  it  irradiates."  Here  we  per- 
ceive the  glow  of  Ideafity  ;  the  simplicity  of  the  former  style  is 
gone,  and  the  diction  has  become  elevated,  figurative,  and  ornamen- 
tal. I  am  not  informed  regarding  the  pai'ticular  sentences  which 
each  of  the  above  gentlemen  wrote  in  this  review ;  but  these 
*  P.  416-17.  tP.  420. 


\VlT.  319 

extracts  will  serve  as  brief  examples  of  the  differences  produced 
on  the  style,  when  Ideality  sheds  few  or  many  beams  on  the  pen 
of  the  author  ;  and  I  regard  the  probabilities  as  very  strong,  that 
the  passages  are  assigned  to  their  appropriate  sources. 
The  organ  is  ascertained. 


20. WIT,  OR  MIRTHFULNESS. 

Every  one  loiows  wh^it  is  meant  by  Wit,  and  yet  no  word  pre- 
sents more  difficulties  in  its  definition.  Dr.  Gall  observes,  that, 
to  convey  a  just  idea  of  the  faculty,  he  could  discover  no  better 
method  than  to  describe  it  as  the  predominant  intellectual  feature 
in  Rabelais,  Cervantes,  Boileau,  Racine,  Swift,  Sterne,  Voltaire. 
In  all  these  authors,  and  in  many  other  persons  who  manifest  a 
similar  talent,  the  anterior-superior-lateral  parts  of  the  forehead  are 
prominent  and  rounded.  When  this  developement  is  excessively 
large,  it  is  attended  with  a  disposition,  apparently  irresistible,  to 
view  objects  in  a  ludicrous  light. 

Wit,  however,  is  not  the  only  cause  of  laughter.  Laughter,  like 
crying,  may  arise  from  a  variety  of  faculties.  I  am  acquainted 
with  a  boy  in  whom  Acquisitiveness  is  large,  and  he  laughs  when  one 
gives  him  a  penny.  Another  youth  who  possesses  a  lai'ge  Love  of 
Approbation,  laughs  when  unexpected  praise  is  bestowed  upon  him. 
These  facts,  to  which  many  more  might  be  added,  show  that  we 
may  smile  from  any  pleasing  affection  of  the  sentiments,  or  even 
of  some  of  the  propensities  ;  and  that  the  cause  of  a  smile  is  not 
always  the  ludicrous.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  the  circumstan- 
ces which  occur  in  hysterical  affections.  It  is  not  uncommon  to 
see  a  lady  or  child  laugh  and  cry  alternately  and  involuntarily,  appa- 
rently on  account  of  some  varying  affection  of  the  whole  mental 
system,  rather  than  from  any  particular,  ludicrous,  or  distressing 
idea  presenting  itself  by  turns  to  the  fancy.  I  have  noticed  farther, 
that  a  large  developement  of  Hope,  Benevolence,  and  Wonder, 
producing  happy  emotions,  predisposes  the  possessor  to  laugh ; 
while  Veneration,  Conscientiousness,  and  Reflection,  when  predom- 


320  WIT. 

inant,  give  rise  to  a  natural  seriousness  and  gravity,  adverse  to 
laughter,  the  tone  of  these  faculties  being  grave  and  solemn. 

There  may  be  much  excellent  wit,  without  exciting  us  to  laugh. 
Indeed  Lord  Chesterfield  lays  it  down  as  a  characteristic  feature 
of  an  accomplished  gentleman,  that  he  should  never  laugh ;  and 
although  this  rule  is  absurd,  yet  there  may  be  a  high  enjoyment 
of  wit  v/ithout  laughter.  The  following  are  instances  in  point. 
There  is  a  story  of  a  Nottinghamshire  publican,  Littlejohn  by 
name,  who  put  up  the  figure  of  Robin  Hood  for  a  sign,  with  the 
following  lines  below  it : 

"  All  ye  that  relish  Ale  that 's  good, 
Come  in  and  drink  with  Robin  Hood; 
If  Rolin  Hood  is  not  at  home, 
Come  in  and  drink  with  LittlejoJm." 

This  is  genuine  wit,  what  even  Chesterfi;eld  would  allow  to  be  so; 
and  yet  it  does  not  force  us  to  laugh.  Another  instance  is  the 
following  :  Louis  XV.  once  heard  that  an  English  nobleman  (Lord 
Stair)  at  his  court  was  remarkably  like  himself.  Upon  his  Lord- 
ship's going  to  court,  the  King,  who  was  very  guilty  of  saying  rude 
things,  observed,  upon  seeing  him,  "  A  remarkable  likeness,  upon 
my  word  ! — My  Lord,  was  your  mother  ever  in  France  .?"  To 
which  his  Lordship  replied,  with  great  politeness  :  "  No,  please 
your  majesty,  but  my  father  was.'  This  also  is  admirably  witty; 
but  it  does  not  excite  laughter.  In  Prior's  song  upon  a  young  lady 
entreating  her  mother  to  allow  her  to  come  out  (as  it  is  called), 
there  is  an  allusion  which,  also,  is  very  fine  wit,  although  it  is  not 
laughable.  The  lady  is  alluding  to  the  liberty  enjoyed,  and  the 
conquests  made,  by  her  elder  sister.  The  last  verse  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  Dear,  dear  mamma,  for  once  let  me 
Like  her  my  fortune  try, 
I  '11  have  an  Earl  as  well  as  she, 
Or  know  the  reason  why." 

The  fair  prevailed, — mamma  gave  way, 

And  Kitty,  at  her  desire. 
Obtained  the  chariot  for  a  day 

And  set  the  world  on  fire.' 


WIT.  321 

In  all  these  instances,  every  one  endowed  with  any  portion  of 
the  organ  now  under  consideration,  must  feci  wit,  although  no 
vivid  emotion  of  laughter  is  excited.  In  the  following  cases, 
again,  the  risible  muscles  are  much  more  affected,  when,  in  fact, 
the  real  point  of  wit  contained  in  them  is  infinitely  less. 

The  story  of  the  Nottingham  publican,  named  Littlejohn,  who 
erected  the  sign  of  Robin  Hood,  goes  on  to  say,  that  Mr.  Littlejohn 
having  died,  his  successor  thought  it  a  pity  to  lose  so  capital  a  sign, 
and  so  much  excellent  poetry,  and  accordingly  retained  both,  only 
erasing  his  predecessor's  name,  he  substituted  his  own  in  its  olace. 
The  lines  then  ran  thus : 

"  All  ye  who  relish  Ale  that's  good, 
Come  in  and  drink  with  Robin  Hood  ; 
i?  Robin  Hood  is  not  at  home, 
Come  in  and  drink  with  Samuel  Johnson." 

The  whole  wit  is  now  gone,  and  yet  the  lines  are  infinitely  more 
laughable  than  before.  In  like  manner,  when  a  servant  let  a  tongue 
fall  from  a  plate,  and  a  gentleman  at  the  table  said,  "Oh,  never 
mind ;  its  a  mere  lapsus  lingum  ;"  there  was  genuine  wit  in  the 
remark ;  but  when  another  servant,  who  had  heard  that  this  was 
vi^itty,  let  fall  a  shoulder  of  mutton,  and  thought  to  get  off,  by 
styling  this  accident,  too,  a  lapsus  linguce,  the  whole  wit  was 
extinguished,  but  laughter  would  be  more  irresistibly  provoked. 
Now,  in  what  does  the  wit  of  the  first  instances  consist  f  and  what 
is  the  cause  of  the  more  laughable  effect  of  the  second  class  of 
cases,  in  which  the  wit  is  actually  extinguished  .'' 

This  leads  us  to  a  definition  of  Wit.  Locke  describes  Wit  as 
"lying  most  in  the  assemblage  of  ideas,  and  putting  these  together 
with  quickness  and  variety,  wherein  can  be  found  any  resemblance 
or  congruity,  thereby  to  make  up  pleasant  pictures,  and  agreeable 
visions  in  the  fancy.*"  Now,  it  may  be  demonstrated,  that  this 
definition  is  erroneous.  For  example,  when  Goldsmith,  in  his 
beautiful  verses  on  Hope,  compares  that  great  blessing  of  humanity 
to  the  light  of  a  taper,  he  adds   a  circumstance  of  resemblance, 

*  Essay,  b.  ii.  c.  xi.  §  2. 

41 


322  WIT. 

which,  according  to  Locke's  definition,  would  be  the  perfection 
of  Wit: 

"  Hope,  like  the  glimmering  taper's  light, 
Adorns  and  cheers  the  way, 
And  still  as  darker  grows  the  night 
Emits  a  Irighter  ray." 

But  this,  in  point  of  fact,  is  only  exquisitely  beautiful,  and  not  in 
the  least  witty.  In  like  manner,  Moore,  in  the  following  verses, 
introduces  comparisons,  which  also  are  admirably  beautiful,  but 
destitute  of  every  ingredient  of  Wit.  In  his  song  on  music's  powers 
to  awaken  the  memory,  he  says  : 

"  Like  the  gale  which  sighs  along 
Beds  of  oriental  flowers. 
Is  the  grateful  bre9.th  of  song 
That  once  was  heard  in  happier  hours. 

Filled  with  balm,  the  gale  sighs  on, 

When  the  flowers  have  sunk  in  death, 
So  when  pleasure's  dream  is  gone. 

Its  memory  lives  in  music's  breath." 

Again,  in  speaking  of  the  pains  of  memory,  he  says, 

"  When  I  remember  all 
The  friends  so  link'd  together, 
I  've  seen  around  me  fall 
Like  leaves  in  wintry  weather ; 

I  feel  like  one  who  treads  alone 

Some  banquet  hall  deserted ; 

Whose  lights  are  fled,  whose  garlands  dead, 

And  all  but  he  departed." 

In  these  instances  we  have  the  most  unexpected  resemblances 
presented  to  the  mind,  beautiful,  as  I  have  said,  but  not  witty ;  and 
when  we  analyze  the  images,  we  are  able  to  refer  them  all  to 
Comparison  and  Ideality  as  their  origins  ;  the  suggestion  of  simple 
resemblance,  adorned  with  beauty,  being  their  constituent  elements. 

Wherein,  then,  do  the  comparisons  which  are  witty,  such  as 
those  already  cited,  or  Hudibras's  famous  simile, 

"  When,  like  a  lobster  boiled,  the  morn 
From  black  to  red  began  to  turn," 


WIT.  3'23 

differ  from  those  which,  are  not  witty?  This  brings  us  at  last  to 
the  true  definition  of  Wit,  and  to  tlie  main  object  of  all  these 
remarks,  the  functions  of  the  organ  now  under  consideration. 

The  authority  of  the  metaphysicians  tends  to  support  the 
idea  that  the  talent  for  perceiving  resemblances  is  distinct  from 
that  which  discriminates  differences.  Malbranche  observes,  that 
"  There  are  geniuses  of  two  sorts.  The  one  remarks  easily  the 
differences  existing  between  objects,  and  these  are  the  excellent 
geniuses.  The  others  imagine  and  suppose  resemblances  between 
things,  and  these  are  the  superficial  minds."*"  Locke  makes  the 
same  distinction.  After  speaking  of  Wit,  as  "lying  most  in  the 
assemblage  of  ideas  wherein  any  resemblance  can  be  found,"  he 
proceeds  thus:  "Judgment,  on  the  contrary,  lies  quite  on  the 
other  side,  in  separating  carefully,  one  from  another,  ideas  where- 
in can  be  found  the  least  difference,  thereby  to  avoid  being  misled 
by  similitude,  and  hy  affinity,  to  take  one  thing  for  another. "f 
Lord  Bacon  says,  that  "the  chief  and  (as  it  were)  radical  distinc- 
tion betwixt  minds,  in  regard  to  philosophy  and  science,  is  this, — 
that  some  minds  have  greater  power,  and  are  more  fitted  for  the 
observation  of  the  differences,  others  for  the  observation  of  the 
resemblances,  of  things." 

These  ideas  will  be  better  understood  by  an  illustration.  The 
objection  is  often  stated,  that  Phrenology  is  no  science,  because  a 
large  organ  of  Destructiveness  and  a  large  organ  of  Benevolence 
may  be  found  in  the  same  head,  and  then  they  will  neutralize  each 
other,  like  an  acid  and  an  alkali.  This  objection  would  spring 
from  a  mind  in  which  the  power  of  perceiving  resemblances  was 
greater  than  that  which  perceives  differences,  and  would  appear 
conclusive  at  first  sight  to  minds  similarly  constituted.  But  a 
person  having  a  large  endowment  of  the  faculty  for  perceiving 
distinctions,  would  discriminate  in  a  moment  the  difference  between 
two  chemical  substances,  placed  in  a  state  of  mechanical  mixture, 
and  two  organs  subsisting  separately,  having  distinct  functions,  and 
calculated  for  acting  on  different  occasions  ;  and  he  vyould  see  that 
the  analogy  had  no  force  whatever. 

*  Rech  de  la  Verite,  liv.  ii.  2d  part  c   ix.  t  Essay,  &c.  b.  ii.  c.  xi.  sect.  2. 


324  WIT. 

The  question,  then,  occurs,  Which  is  the  faculty  that  perceives 
differences  1  Mr.  Scott  has  been  led  to  believe,  that  it  depends 
upon  the  faculty  of  Wit,  and  that  the  primitive  function  of  this 
power  is  to  distinguish  differences,  while  Comparison  perceives 
resemblances.  He  conceives  that  in  all  the  foregoing  instances  in 
which  Wit  is  recognised,  there  is  "  a  mixture  of  congruity  and 
incongruity,  or  incongruity  appears  where  congruity  was  expected," 
which  in  principle  is  one  and  the  same  thing.  This  is  nearly  the 
definition  of  Wit  given  by  Beattie,  and  it  also  approaches  closely 
to  that  given  by  Campbell  and  Dr.  Thomas  Brown.  Now,  he 
says  that  the  proper  function  of  the  faculty  under  discussion  is  to 
perceive  difference,  to  observe,  in  short,  incongruity,  and  that  it 
is  only  when  this  is  done  that  Wit  is  at  all  recognised.  The  wit 
in  Lord  Stair's  reply  lies  in  the  incongruity  between  the  answer 
which  Louis  received,  and  that  which  he  expected.  He  evidently 
anticipated  that  Stair  would  say  that  his  mother  had  been  in  France; 
and  the  King  meant  it  to  be  inferred,  that  she  had  been  false,  and 
that  Stair  was  his  brother.  His  Lordship's  reply,  on  the  contrary, 
completely  turned  the  tables  on  the  King.  "  No,  but  my  father 
was,"  implied  that  Louis,  by  parity  of  reason,  was  descended  of 
Stair's  father.     In  like  manner  when  Kitty 

"  Obtained  the  chariot  for  a  day 
And  set  the  world  on  fire  ;" 

we  perceive  comparison  between  the  young  beauty's  exploit  and 
that  of  PhcBton  with  the  chariot  of  the  Sun,  and  the  difference  or 
incongruity  is  so  striking,  that  we  feel  it  as  an  essential  ingredient 
in  the  description,  and  relish  it  as  wit.  In  the  comparison  of  Hope 
to  the  taper,  on  the  other  hand, 

"  Which  still  as  darker  grows  the  night 
Emits  a  brighter  ray," 

we  attend  only  to  the  resemblance,  which  is  very  striking  and 
beautiful,  and  not  to  the  points  of  difference ;  and  then  the  image 
strikes  us  as  a  pure  comparison,  and  not  as  implying  any  incon- 
gruity, and,  in  consequence,  it  is  not  felt  as  witty. 


WIT.  325 

Wit,  therefore,  appears  to  consist  chiefly  in  an  intellectual 
perception  of  difference,  of  congruity  amid  incongruity;  and  hence 
Wit,  like  an  argument,  may  be  retailed  a  thousand  times,  from 
mind  to  mind,  without  losing  its  intrinsic  qualities  ;  while  humor, 
which  is  ascribed  chiefly  to  Secretiveness,  is  entirely  personal, 
and  must  be  witnessed  at  the  first  hand  to  be  at  all  enjoyed.* 
These  are  Mr.  Scott's  ideas. 

Dr.  Spurzheim,  on  the  other  hand,  maintains  that  the  perception 
of  resemblance  is  the  result  of  a  lower,  and  that  of  difference  of  a 
higher,  degree  of  power  and  activity  in  each  intellectual  faculty; 
Color,  for  example,  when  feeble,  sees  a  resemblance  between 
hues,  which  by  a  more  powerful  organ  are  at  once  discerned  to  be 
different ;  a  feeble  organ  of  Tune  perceives  harmonies,  where  a 
higher  faculty  discovers  discords  ;  feeble  Causality  sees  resem- 
blances between  two  causes,  which  a  more  intense  Causality 
distinguishes  to  be  different.  Hence  every  organ  perceives 
both  resemblances  and  differences  within  its  own  sphere.  This 
objection  appears  to  me  to  be  conclusive  ;  and  the  instances  before 
cited  from  the  metaphysicians,  receive  a  ready  explanation  by 
supposing  that  the  geniuses  which  are  captivated  chiefly  by  resem- 
blances, possess  the  weaker,  and  those  which  discriminate  differ- 
ences, the  higher  endowment  of  the  various  intellectual  faculties 
related  to  their  several  subjects. 

Dr.  Spurzheim  considers  the  faculty  now  under  consideration  to 
be  a  sentiment  "which  disposes  men  to  view  every  thing  in  a  gay 
and  joyful  manner."  He  regards  it  as  "given  to  man  to  render 
him  merry,  to  produce  gaiety, — feelings  not  to  be  confounded  with 
satisfaction  or  contentment :  these  are  affections  of  every  faculty, 
whilst  gaiety  and  laughter  belong  to  that  which  now  occupies  our 
attention."  According  to  this  view.  Wit  consists  in  conceptions, 
formed  by  the  intellectual  powers  imbued  with  the  sentiment  of 
the  ludicrous ;  in  the  same  way  as  poetry  consists  in  the  manifes- 
tations of  the  other  faculties,  acting  in  combination  with,  and 
elevated  by  Ideality. 

In  the  Phren.  Journal,  vol.  vi.  p.  451,  Mr.  Hewett  Watson  has 

*  The  theory  of  Humor  is  explained  on  p.  184. 


326  WIT. 

given  a  different  analysis  of  this  faculty,  and  illustrated  it  with 
much  ability.  He  regards  it  as  an  intellectual  power,  whose 
function  is  to  take  cognizance  of  the  nature  or  intrinsic  properties 
of  things,  the  office  of  Causality  being  to  perceive  the  "relations 
of  causation  and  dependence  in  general."  According  to  him,  the 
ludicrous  is  a  mode  of  manifestation  of  all  the  intellectual  faculties, 
and  he  gives  examples  in  which  Sheridan  and  Moore  display  great 
Wit,  chiefly  from  Individuality  and  Comparison.  The  faculty  now 
under  discussion,  produces  wit  also  as  a  mode  of  manifestation;  but 
he  conceives  that  it  does  so  always,  by  comparing  or  contrasting 
the  intrinsic  qualities  of  objects.  The  study  of  character  "  is 
included  in  the  functions  of  Wit,  not  merely  the  actions  performed, 
but  the  real  dispositions."  "Let  us  now  take  up,"  says  he,  "the 
Sentimental  Tour  of  Sterne,  in  whose  mask  Causality  and  Wit  are 
predominating  organs.  Almost  the  whole  tenor  of  this  work, 
unlike  that  of  most  tourists,  consists  of  disquisitions  concerning 
the  dispositions  and  inherent  qualities  of  persons  and  things ;  for, 
instead  of  narrating  whom  and  what  he  saw,  his  attention  seems  to 
have  been  absorbed  in  speculations  as  to  their  conditions,  depend- 
ences, nature,  and  qualities.  We  wish  to  condense  the  evidence 
in  support  of  the  views  now  advanced  concerning  the  organ  of  Wit, 
and  shall  therefore  be  sparing  in  our  quotations  from  each  author, 
and,  indeed,  select  them  rather  as  examples  than  evidence,  leaving 
to  those  who  may  feel  inclined  the  office  of  trying  their  soundness, 
by  reference  to  the  general  writings  of  the  authors  enumerated.  In 
the  Preface  written  for  the  Sentimental  Journey  we  have  the 
following  disquisition  : 

"'Your  idle  people  leave  their  native  country,  and  go  abroad 
for  some  reason  or  reasons,  which  may  be  derived  from  one  of 
these  general  causes, — Inferiority  of  body  ; — Imbecility  of  mind ; 
— or  Inevitable  necessity. 

"  '  The  two  first  include  all  those  who  travel  by  land  or  by 
v^^ater,  laboring  with  pride,  curiosity,  vanity,  or  spleen,  subdivided 
and  combined  ad  infinitum. 

" '  The  third  class  includes  the  whole  army  of  peregrine 
mai'tyrs  ;  more  especially  those  travellers  who  set  out  upon  their 


WIT.  327 

travels  with  the  benefit  of  clergy,  either  as  delinquents  travelling 
under  the  direction  of  governors  recommended  by  the  magistrates, 
— or  young  gentlemen  transported  by  the  cruelty  of  parents  and 
guardians,  and  travelling  under  the  direction  of  governors  recom- 
mended by  Oxford,  Aberdeen,  and  Glasgow. 

"  '  There  is  a  fourth  class,  but  their  number  is  so  small,  that 
they  would  not  deserve  a  distinction,  were  it  not  necessary  in  a 
work  of  this  nature,  to  observe  the  greatest  precision  and  nicety, 
to  avoid  a  confusion  of  character.  And  these  men  I  speak  of,  are 
such  as  cross  the  seas,  and  sojourn  in  a  land  of  strangers,  with  a 
view  of  saving  money  for  various  reasons,  and  upon  various  pre- 
tences ;  but  as  they  might  also  save  themselves  and  others  a  great 
deal  of  unnecessary  trouble,  by  saving  their  money  at  home,  and 
as  their  reasons  for  travelling  are  the  least  complex  of  any  other 
species  of  emigrants,  I  shall  distinguish  these  gentlemen  by  the 
name  of  '  Simple  Travellers.' 

"  '  Thus  the  whole  cuxle  of  travellers  may  be  reduced  to  the 
following  heads  : 

Idle  Travellers,  Proud  Travellers, 

Inquisitive  Travellers,  Vain  Travellers, 

Lying  Travellers,  Splenetic  Travellers. 

"'Then  follow 

The  Travellers  of  Necessity, 

The  Delinquent  and  Felonious  Traveller, 

The  Unfortunate  and  Innocent  Traveller, 

The  Simple  Traveller ;  and,  lastly, 

The  Sentimental  Traveller  (meaning  thereby  myself).'  " 

"  There  is  in  these  distinctions  an  admixture  both  of  Philosophy 
and  Wit,  but  certainly  more  of  the  former  ;  and  if  our  readers 
have  gone  along  with  our  previous  conclusions,  they  will  scarcely 
hesitate  to  attribute  both  the  one  and  the  other  to  the  organ  bearing 
the  cognomen  of  the  latter.     Again,  he  says  : 

"The  sons  and  daughters  of  service  part  with  liberty,  but  not 
with  nature,  in  their  contracts ;  they  are  flesh  and  blood,  and  have 
their  httle  vanities  and  wishes  in  the  midst  of  the  house  of  bondage, 
as  well  as  their  task-masters." 


328  WIT. 

"  Sheridan  enjoyed  no  slight  reputation  as  a  wit,  but  any  one 
taking  the  trouble  to  analyze  his  manifestations  in  that  way,  will 
soon  perceive  that  the  wit  of  this  remarkable  individual  almost 
always  consists  of  comparisons,  or  contrasts  of  proportion,  position, 
objects,  and  events,  with  little  or  no  reference  to  their  attributes  or 
inherent  properties.  For  instance,  he  compares  a  tall  thin  man 
with  a  short  fat  wife,  to  a  church  and  steeple ;  beaux  flirting  with 
a  lady  seated  in  a  very  high  carriage,  to  supporters  hanging  half 
way  up  the  door  ;  a  tall  thin  man,  to  a  tree  run  up  against  a  wall ; 
and  such  an  one  with  his  arms  spread,  to  a  cross  on  a  Good-Friday 
bun." 

"As,  therefore,  in  the  works  of  individuals  noted  for  the  large 
developement  of  Wit,  we  find  a  peculiar  tendency  to  dwell  on  the 
essential  properties  of  things,  and,  at  the  same  time,  in  some  of 
them  an  equal  tendency  to  ridicule  all  fancy,  philosophy,  and 
reasoning,  wherein  there  appears  neglect  or  ignorance  of  these 
attributes  ; — as  we  are  not  aware  of  any  other  organ  which  can 
include  perceptions  of  this  nature  in  its  function  ; — and  as  the  in- 
herent properties  of  the  constituent  parts  of  creation  seem  to  be 
intellectual  perceptions,  equally  distinct  from  those  of  condition  or 
dependence  as  those  of  objects  are  from  those  of  their  position 
and  physical  properties  ; — there  seems  no  slight  probability  for 
supposing  the  existence  of  some  distinct  organ  for  such  percep- 
tions ;  and,  further,  if  we  find  them  manifested  strongly  when  the 
organ  of  Wit  is  large  ;  if  the  peculiar  wit  and  satire  believed  to 
be  connected  with  the  function  of  this  organ  is  found  to  depend 
essentially  on  such  perceptions  ;  and  if  other  kinds  of  wit — that 
of  Curran  and  Sheridan,  for  instance — may  exist  with  a  moderate 
or  deficient  endowment  of  this  organ;  we  shall  be  almost  necessarily 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that  perception  of  inherent  properties  does 
depend  on  the  organ  of  Wit,  unless  it  can  be  shown  to  exist  pow- 
erful when  the  organ  is  feebly  developed,  which  we  have  in  vdn 
looked  for. 

"  It  hence  appears  that  the  range  of  this  faculty  is  far  more 
extensive,  and  that  it  forms  a  much  more  essential  ingredient,  in 
our  philosophic  capacities  than   could   be    predicated   from  only 


observing  its  manifestations  when  acting  along  with  Secretive- 
ness,  Self-Esteem,  Combativeness,  and  Destructiveness,  to  produce 
irony,  sarcasm,  ridicule,  and  satire  ;  or,  with  other  intellectual 
powers,  to  sparkle  in  the  sallies  of  wit.  Directed  towards  man, 
it  probably  gives  a  tendency  to  investigate  the  real  character, 
instead  of  resting  content  with  observing  appearances  or  actions, 
which  seems  to  have  been  greatly  the  bent  of  Sterne's  mind,  and 
considerably  so  of  that  of  Frankhn.  Taking  the  direction  of 
Religion,  it  will  inquire  into  the  nature  and  attributes  of  God,  as 
manifested  in  creation.  Cowper  affords  an  example  of  this,  and 
Socrates  may  be  also  named.  In  physiology,  primary  or  essential 
function,  as  distinct  from  modes  of  manifestation,  and  particular 
actions  and  directions,  will  be  its  aim.  To  the  metaphysician  it 
will  impart  a  strong  desire  for  ascertaining  the  nature  and  inherent 
powers  of  mind,  and  of  creation  in  general.  Phrenology,  being  an 
union  of  the  two  latter — the  metaphysician  and  the  physiologist — 
its  founders  will  afford  us  a  suitable  illustration.  In  the  bust  of 
Dr.  Gall  the  organ  is  represented  much  less  developed  than  in  that 
of  Dr.  Spurzheira  ;  and  the  superiority  of  the  latter  in  discriminat- 
ing modes  of  manifestation  and  particular  directions  of  the  mental 
powers  from  the  powers  themselves,  is  familiar  to  all  phrenologists. 
Perhaps,  too,  we  shall  not  err  in  adducing  Locke  as  a  negative 
instance  of  the  faculty.  In  the  portraits  of  this  philosopher.  Com- 
parison and  Causality  appear  greatly  larger  than  Wit  ;  and  his 
system  derives  not  only  ideas,  but  the  mental  feelings,  from  exter- 
nal impressions  ;  but  as  he  was  obliged  to  give  the  mind  a  capa- 
bility of  being  affected  by  impressions  on  the  external  senses,  he 
endowed  it  with  the  faculties  of  perception,  contemplation,  mem- 
ory, comparison,  and  abstraction,  which  are  in  reality  but  modes 
of  activity,  not  inherent  powers.  His  grounds  for  denying  the 
innateness  of  ideas  were  their  non-manifestation,  or  various  modi- 
fications in  different  individuals,  from  which  it  would  seem  that 
modes  of  being  were  to  him  in  lieu  of  innate  powers. 

"  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  organ  of  Wit  gives  a  tendency 
to  view  every  thing  in  a  ludicrous  light ;  but  if  the  ideas  here  pro- 
posed concerning   its  function  prove  correct,  such  a  supposition 
42 


must  be  untenable  ;  and  that  it  is  so,  in  point  of  fact,  may  be 
shown  by  reference  to  nature.  The  masks  of  Drs.  CuUen,  Frank- 
lin, and  Spurzheim,  exhibit  a  greater  developement  of  the  organ 
than  do  those  of  Curran,  Swift,  and  Sheridan.  And  further,  let 
any  one  appeal  to  his  own  private  friends  in  whom  the.  organ  is 
largely  developed,  and  ask  whether  they  are  not  oftener  pained 
than  pleased  by  things  of  opposite  and  unharmonizing  nature 
brought  into  unnecessary  contact ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  delight- 
ed by  harmonies  between  the  properties  or  attributes,  whether  real 
or  imaginary,  of  different  objects." 

"  It  seems  that  almost  all  amusing  wit  consists  in  a  slight  resem- 
blance addressed  to  the  function  of  one  organ,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  difference  to  that  of  another, — thus  coming  still  nearer  to 
Mr.  Scott's  theory  of  laughter  than  his  own  view  of  wit  could  do. 
For,  if  there  were  distinct  organs  to  perceive  resemblance  and 
difference,  each  would  be  similarly  excited  by  the  specimens  of 
wit;  but  if  these  be  modes  of  activity  conimon  to  all  the  intellec- 
tual powers,  then  one  of  them  is  agreeably  excited  by  the  similar- 
ity, and  the  other  jarred  by  the  contrast,  producing  different  states 
of  excitement.  We  say  "jarred,"  because  the  more  any  organ 
is  developed,  the  more  are  similarities  and  harmonies  between  its 
perceptions  sought  after ;  Tune,  Color,  and  Number,  for  ex- 
ample." 

I  present  these  different  views,  because  they  are  ingenious ;  but 
the  facts  adduced  are  much  too  few  for  forming  a  judgment  on  the 
question.  Mr.  Watson's  observations  are  highly  interesting,  but 
considerable  difficulties  attend  them.  In  Sheridan,  Individuality 
and  Eventuality  are  by  much  the  predominant  intellectual  organs, 
but  Wit  is  also  moderately  developed  ;  and  his  manifestations  are 
in  exact  correspondence  with  Dr.  Spurzheim's  views  ;^namely, 
his  elementary  ideas  are  drawn  chiefly  from  Individuality  and 
Eventuality,  and  they  receive  a  coloring  from  Wit,  which  renders 
them  ludicrous;  but  they  do  not  partake  very  highly  of  this 
quality,  and  in  their  nature  they  differ  from  the  witty  manifestations 
of  Sterne  and  Voltaire,  in  whom  large  Causality  was  combined 
with  large  Wit.     I  am  acquainted  with  two  individuals  in  both  of 


IMITATION.  331 

whom  Individuality  and  Eventuality  are  large  ;  but  in  the  one  Wit 
is  small,  and  in  the  other  rather  large,  and  the  former  almost  never 
intentionally  presents  witty  combinations  of  ideas,  while  the  latter 
is  prone  to  do  so,  as  a  habitual  disposition  of  mind,  without  study 
or  intention.  This  case  also  is  in  harmony  with  Dr.  Spurzheim's 
doctrine. 

When  this  organ  large  is  combined  with  much  Combativeness 
and  Destructiveness,  it  leads  to  satire.  It  gives  the  talent  also 
for  epigrams.  Persons  in  whom  it  is  small,  if  their  predominating 
faculties  be  grave,  regard  Wit  as  impertinence,  and  are  apt  to  be 
offended  by  it.  It  is  greatly  aided  by  Individuality,  Eventuality 
and  Comparison,  which  furnish  intellectual  materials  which  it  invests 
with  a  ludicrous  appearance. 

I  include  Wit  among  the  sentiments  in  the  present  edition,  with 
a  view  to  preserve  uniformity  with  Dr.  Spurzheim  in  the  number- 
ing of  the  organs  with  reference  to  the  bust.  Dr.  Spurzheim,  in 
the  dissection  of  the  brain,  shows  that,  anatomically,  Ideality  and 
Wit  belong  to  the  same  department  of  convolutions  ;  whence  a 
presumption  arises  of  their  functions  belonging  to  the  same  class 
of  mental  faculties  ;  and  as  Ideality  has  been  uniformly  regarded  as 
a  sentiment.  Wit  may  with  propriety  be  placed  under  the  same 
head.  Mr.  Watson  has  been  led  to  regard  Ideality  also  as  an 
intellectual  power  ;  but  his  ideas  are  not  sufficiently  matured  for 
publication.  It  will  be  observed,  that  all  these  differences  relate 
to  the  metaphysical  analysis  of  the  faculty,  and  that  phrenologists 
are  agreed  on  the  fact,  that  witty  and  mirthful  manifestations  are 
connected  with  the  organ  now  under  consideration.  The  organ, 
and  its  general  functions,  therefore,  are  regarded  as  ascertained. . 

21. IMITATION. 

Dr.  Gall  gives  the  following  account  of  the  discovery  of  this 
faculty  and  organ.  One  day,  a  friend  with  whom  he  conversed 
about  the  form  of  the  head,  assured  him  that  his  had  something 
particular,  and  directed  his  hand  to  the  superior-anterior  region 
of  the  skull.      This  part  was  elevated  in  the  form  of  a  segment  of 


332  IMITATION. 

a  circle  ;  and  behind  the  protuberance  there  was  a  depression . 
Before  this  time  Dr.  Gall  had  not  observed  this  conformation. 
This  man  had  a  particular  talent  for  imitation.  Dr.  Gall  imme- 
diately repaired  to  the  institution  of  the  deaf  and  dumb  to  examine 
the  head  of  the  pupil  Casteigner,  who  only  six  weeks  before  had 
been  received  into  the  establishment,  and,  from  his  entrance,  had 
attracted  notice  by  his  amazing  talent  for  mimicry.'  On  the  mardi- 
gras  of  the  Carnival,  when  a  little  play  was  presented  at  the  insti- 
tution, he  had  imitated  so  perfectly  the  gestures,  gait,  &c.  of  the 
director,  inspector,  physician,  and  surgeon  of  the  establishment, 
and  above  all  of  some  women,  that  it  was  impossible  to  mistake 
them.  This  exhibition  was  the  more  amusing,  as  nothing  of  the 
kind  was  expected  from  this  boy,  his  education  having  been  totally 
neglected.  Dr.  Gall  states,  that  he  quite  unexpectedly  found  the 
part  of  the  head  in  question  as  fully  developed  in  this  individual  as 
in  his  friend  Hannibal,  just  mentioned. 

Is  the  talent  for  mimicry,  then,  said  Gall,  founded  on  a  partic- 
ular faculty  and  organ  ?  He  sought  every  opportunity  of  multiply- 
ing observations.  He  visited  private  families,  schools,  &c.,  and 
everywhere  examined  the  heads  of  individuals  who  possessed  a 
distinguished  talent  for  mimicry.  At  this  time,  Mons.  Marx, 
secretary  to  the  minister  at  war,  had  acquired  a  great  reputation, 
by  several  characters  which  he  played  in  a  private  theatre.  Dr. 
Gall  found  in  his  head  the  same  part  of  the  he^d  swelling  out  as 
in  Casteigner  and  Hannibal.  In  all  the  other  persons  whom  he 
examined,  he  found  the  part  in  question  more  or  less  elevated  in 
proportion  to  the  talent  for  imitation  which  they  possessed.  It  is 
told  of  Garrick,  says  Dr.  Gall,  that  he  possessed  such  an  extraor- 
dinary talent  for  mimicry,  that,  at  the  court  of  Louis  XV.,  having 
seen  for  a  moment  the  King,  the  Duke  D'Aumont,  the  Duke 
D'Orleans,  and  Messrs.  D'Aumont,  Brissac,  Richelieu,  Prince 
Soubise,  &c.  he  carried  off  the  manner, of  each  of  them  in  his 
recollection.  He  invited  to  supper  some  friends  who  had  accom- 
panied him  to  court,  and  said,  "  I  have  seen  the  court  only  for 
an  instant,  but  I  shall  show  you  the  correctness  of  my  powers 
of  observation,  and  the  extent  of  my  memory;"  and  placing  his 


IMITATION.  333 

friends  in  two  files,  he  retired  from  the  room,  and  instantly  return- 
ing, his  friends  exclaimed,  "  Ah  !  behold  the  King,  Louis  XV.  to 
the  life."  He  imitated  in  succession  all  the  other  personages  of 
the  court,  who  were  instantly  recognised.  He  imitated  not  only 
their  walk,  gait  and  figure,  but  also  the  expression  of  their  coun- 
tenances. Dr.  Gall,  therefore,  easily  understood  how  greatly  the 
faculty  of  Imitation  would  assist  in  the  formation  of  a  talent  for 
acting  ;  and  he  examined  the  heads  of  the  best  performers  at  that 
time  on  the  stage  of  Vienna.  He  found  the  organ  large  in  them 
all,  namely,  in  Miiller,  Lange,  Brockmann,  Schrseder,  Bauman, 
Koch,  and  his  daughter.  He  got  the  skull  of  Jiinger,  a  poet  and 
comedian,  and  he  afterwards  used  it  to  demonstrate  the  organ. 
Subsequently,  he  and  Dr.  Spurzheim,  in  their  travels,  met  with 
many  confirmations  of  the  organ  ;  in  particular,  in  the  house  of 
correction  at  Munich,  they  saw  a  thief  who  had  this  organ  large. 
Dr.  Gall  said  he  must  be  an  actor  :  surprised  at  the  observation, 
he  acknowledged  that  he  had  for  some  time  belonged  to  a  strolling 
company  of  players.  This  circumstance  was  not  known  in  the 
prison  when  Gall  made  the  observation.  On  these  grounds.  Dr. 
Gall  conceived  himself  justified  in  admitting  the  existence  of  a 
particular  talent  for  imitation  ;  that  is  to  say,  a  faculty  which 
enables  the  possessor  in  some  degree  to  personify  the  ideas  and 
sentiments  of  others,  and  to  exhibit  them  exactly  by  gestures  ;  and 
he  considered  this  talent  to  be  connected  with  the  particular  organ 
now  pointed  out. 

This  organ  contributes  to  render  a  poet  or  author  dramatic,  such 
as  Shakspeare,  Corneille,  Moliere,  Voltaire,  &c.  It  is  large  in 
the  portraits  of  Shakspeare,  and  also  in  the  bust  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  v^^hose  productions  are  strongly  characterised  by  their 
dramatic  scenes. 

This  faculty  produces  the  talent  for  imitation  alone  ;  and  Mr. 
Scott  has  observed,  that,  in  perfect  acting,  there  is  more  than 
imitation.  There  is  expression  of  the  propensities  and  sentiments 
of  the  mind  in  all  the  truth  and  warmth  of  actual  and  natural  excite- 
ment ;  and  this  power  of  throwing  real  expression  into  the  outward 
representation  he  conceives  to  depend  upon  Secretiveness.     Thus, 


334  IMITATION. 

says  Mr.  Scott,  a  person  with  much  imitation  and  little  Secretive- 
ness,  could  represent  what  he  had  seen,  but  he  would  give  the 
externals  only  in  his  representation  ;  add  Secretiveness,  and  he 
could  then  enter  into  any  given  character  as  it  would  appear  if 
existing  in  actual  nature  :  he  could,  by  means  of  this  latter  faculty, 
call  up  all  the  internal  feelings  which  would  animate  the  original, 
and  give  not  a  copy  merely,  but  another  of  the  same, — a  second 
edition,  as  it  were,  of  the  person  represented.  In  this  analysis  of 
acting,  perhaps,  too  much  influence  is  ascribed  to  Secretiveness, 
and  too  little  to  Imitation  :  My  own  opinion,  as  expressed  on  p. 
184,  is,  that  Secretiveness  produces  chiefly  a  restraining  effect, 
and  that  Imitation  enables  its  possessor  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of 
those  whom  it  represents. 

While,  however,  Secretiveness  and  Imitation  together  may  thus 
be  regarded  as  general  powers,  without  which  no  talent  for  acting 
can  be  manifested,  it  is  proper  to  observe,  that  the  effect  with 
which  they  can  be  applied  in  representing  particular  characters, 
will  depend  on  the  degree  in  which  other  faculties  are  possessed 
in  combination  with  them.  They  confer  on  the  individual  only  the 
capacity  of  applying,  in  this  particular  way,  the  whole  other  powers 
of  the  mind,  so  far  as  he  possesses  them  ;  but  they  do  not  suppl}^ 
the  want  of  these  powers.  For  example  ;  an  actor  destitute  of 
Tune^  however  highly  he  may  be  endowed  with  Secretiveness  and 
Imitation,  could  not  imitate  Catalani,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing, 
perform  her  parts  on  the  stage  ;  and  neither  could  an  individual  - 
possessing  little  Combativeness  and  Dcstriictiveness,  represent  with 
just  effect  the  fiery  Coriolanus;  because  the  natural  language  of 
indignation  can  no  more  be  called  up  by  Secretiveness  and  Imi- 
tation, without  Combativeness  and  Destructiveness,  than  melody 
without  the  aid  of  Tune.  Hence,  to  constitute  an  accomplished 
actor,  capable  of  sustaining  a  variety  of  parts,  a  general  full  endow- 
ment of  the  mental  organs  is  required.  Nature  rarely  bestows  all 
these  in  an  eminent  degree  on  one  individual;  and,  in  consequence, 
each  performer  has  a  range  of  character  in  which  he  excels,  and 
out  of  which  he  is  nothing  ;  and  I  have  found,  by  repeated  obser- 
vadons,  that  the  lines  of  success  and  failure  bear  a  decided  refer- 


IMITATION.  335 

ence  to  the  organs  fully  or  imperfectly  developed  in  the  brain. 
Any  one  may  easily  put  this  observation  to  the  test  of  experiment. 
Actors  incapable  of  sustaining  the  dignity  of  a  great  character,  but 
who  excel  in  low  comedy,  will  be  found  deficient  in  Ideality; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  those  who  tread  the  stage  with  a  native 
dignity  of  aspect,  and  seem  as  if  born  to  command,  will  be  found 
to  possess  it  largely  developed  ;  and  also  Firmness,  Self-esteem, 
and  Love  of  Approbation.  It  does  not  follow,  however,  from 
these  principles,  that  an  actor,  in  his  personal  conduct,  must  neces- 
sarily resemble  most  closely  those  characters  which  he  represents 
to  the  best  advantage.  To  enable  an  individual  to  succeed  emi- 
nently in  acting  ShylocJc,  for  example,  Firmness,  Acquisitiveness 
and  Destructiveness,  are  reckoned  indispensable  ;  but  it  is  not 
necessaiy,  merely  because  Shylock  is  represented  as  deficient  in 
Benevolence,  Justice,  Veneration,  and  Love  of  Approbation,  that 
the  actor  also  should  be  so .  The  general  powers  above  referred 
to,  although  they  do  not  supply  the  place  of  deficient  faculties,  are 
quite  competent  for  the  time  to  suppress  the  manifestations  of 
opposite  sentiments.  Hence,  in  his  proper  character,  he  may 
manifest  in  the  highest  degree  the  moral  sentiments  ;  and  yet,  by 
shading  these  for  the  time,  by  the  aid  of  Secretiveness,  and  bring- 
ing into  play  only  the  natural  languages  of  the  lower  propensities, 
which  also  we  suppose  him  to  possess,  he  may  represent  a  scoun- 
drel to  the  life. 

This  faculty  is  indispensable  to  the  portrait  painter,  the  engraver, 
the  sculptor ;  and,  on  examining  the  heads  of  Mr.  Douglas,  Mr. 
Joseph,  Mr.  Uwins,  Mr.  W.  Allan,  Mr.  James  Stewart,  Mr. 
Selby  the  ornithologist,  and  Mr.  Lawrence  Macdonald,  I  found 
it  large  in  them  all.  Indeed,  in  these  arts,  it  is  as  indispensable 
as  Constructiveness.  It  also  aids  the  musician  and  linguist,  and, 
in  short,  all  who  practise  arts  in  which  expression  is  an  object. 

Imitation  gives  the  tendency  to  express  by  gestures  the  thoughts 
and  feelings  of  the  mind,  and  hence  is  requisite  to  the  accom- 
plished orator.  In  private  life,  some  individuals  accompany  their 
speech  with  the  most  forcible  and  animated  expressions  of  counte- 
nance, the  nascent  thought  beams  from  the  eye,  and  plays  upon 


336 


IMITATION. 


the  features,  before  it  is  uttered  in  words ; — this  is  produced  by 
much  Imitation,  Secretiveness,  and  Ideality. 

This  organ  is  possessed  by  some  of  the  lower  animals,  such  as 
parrots  and  monkeys,  which  imitate  the  actions  of  man. 

When  this  organ  and  that  of  Benevolence  are  both  large,  the 
anterior  portion  of  the  coronal  aspect  of  the  head  rises  high  above 
the  eyes,  is  broad,  and  presents  a  level  surface,  as  in  Miss  Clara 
Fisher,  who,  at  eight  years  of  age,  exhibited  great  talents  as  an 
actress.  When  Benevolence  is  large,  and  Imitation  small,  there 
is  an  elevation  in  the  middle,  with  a  rapid  slope  on  each  side,  as 
in  Jacob  Jervis.  The  organ  is  large  in  Raphael.  It  is  regai-ded 
as  ascertained. 


Jacob  Jervis. 


Clara  Fisher. 


In  both  of  these  figures  the  head  rises  to  a  great  height  above  the  eyes  ;  but  in 
Jervis  it  slopes  rapidly  on  the  two  sides  of  13,  Benevolence,  indicating 
Imitation  deficient;  whereas  in  Miss  Clara  Fisher  it  is  as  high  at  21 
Imitation,  as  at  Benevolence,  indicating  both  organs  to  be  large. 


(  337   ) 


Order  II.— INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES. 

These  faculties  communicate  to  man  and  animals  knowledge  of 
their  own  internal  sensations,  and  also  of  the  external  v/orld ;  their 
object  is  to  know  existence,  and  to  perceive  qualities  and  relations. 
They  consist  of  three  genera;  the  first  genus  includes  the  Five 
Senses  ;  the  second,  those  powers  which  take  cognizance  of 
external  objects  and  their  relations,  named  Knowing  or  Perceptive 
Faculties  ;  and  the  third,  the  faculties  which  trace  abstract  relations, 
and  reason  or  reflect. 

Genus  I.— EXTERNAL   SENSES. 

By  means  of  the  Five  Senses,  man  and  animals  are  brought 
into  communication  with  the  external  world.  Dr.  Spurzheim, 
in  his  "New  Physiognomical  System,"  and,  in  his  recent  work 
"  Phrenology, "  gives  admirable  treatises  on  the  senses  ;  of  which 
I  avail  myself  largely  in  the  following  pages. 

The  opinions  entertained  by  philosophers  in  regard  to  the  func- 
tions of  the  senses,  have  been  whimsical,  extravagant,  and  contra- 
dictory. Since  the  time  of  Bacon  and  Locke,  the  greater  number 
of  philosophical  systems  rest  on  the  axiom  of  Aristotle,  that  all 
ideas  come  into  the  mind  by  means  of  the  external  senses.  Ac- 
cording to  this  notion,  he  who  possesses  them  in  the  highest  state 
of  perfection,  is  able  to  manifest  most  powerfully  the  faculties 
of  the  mind ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  faculties,  both  of  man  and 
animals,  ought  to  be  proportionate  to  the  perfection  of  the  five 
senses,  and  to  the  education  bestowed  upon  them.  Daily  expe- 
rience, however,  contradicts  this  hypothesis. 

Philosophers    of  another    class    maintain,    that   the    mind   acts 

independently  of  all  organization,  and  that  the   senses,  instead  of 

being  instruments  of  action,  ai-e  rather  impediments  to  it.     They 

complain  much  of  the  illusions  of  the  five  senses  ;  and  despise  all 

43 


338  FUNCTIONS  OF  THE 

testimony,  and  all  conclusions  grounded  upon  sensation.  Such 
notions  aie  unworthy  of  being  refuted. 

A  great  many  philosophers  have  also  attributed  to  the  external 
senses  many  acts  which  are  performed  by  the  internal  faculties 
alone.  For  instance,  Helvetius  has  said,  that  man  owes  his  arts 
to  the  structure  of  his  hands  ;  and  that,  if  the  hoof  of  the  horse 
had  been  joined  to  the  human  arm,  he  would  have  been  still  wan- 
dering wild  in  the  woods.  But  many  animals  have  instruments 
equally  curious  and  perfect  in  their  structure  as  those  to  which 
peculiai'  capacities  of  mind  have  been  attributed  in  man ;  and  yet 
these  instruments  do  not  produce  in  them  the  corresponding 
functions.  Monkeys  have  hands  almost  as  nicely  formed  as  those 
which  are  attached  to  the  human  arm  ;  but,  do  monkeys  put  wood 
upon  the  fire  to  support  combustion  ?  or,  do  they  construct  works 
of  art  ?  According  to  this  opinion,  also,  insects,  craw-fish,  lobsters, 
and  still  more  the  cuttle  fish,  ought  to  have  exact  ideas  of  exten- 
sion, of  size,  and  of  the  theorems  of  geometry,  in  consequence 
of  their  numerous  and  perfect  organs  of  touch. 

In  point  of  fact,  however,  the  external  instruments  are  often 
similar,  while  the  functions  performed  by  them  are  quite  different. 
The  hare  and  rabbit  have  similar  feet ;  yet  the  hare  lies  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  fields,  while  the  rabbit  burrows  under  ground.  We 
have  also  examples  of  similar  functions  observed  in  animals  which 
have  instruments  quite  different.  The  proboscis  is  to  the  elephant 
what  the  hand  is  to  man  and  to  the  monkey.  The  hands  of  mon- 
keys, and  the  feet  of  parrots  and  squirrels,  are  certainly  different; 
yet,  by  means  of  these  instruments,  they  all  move  their  food  to  their 
mouths  in  eating.  In  order  to  dig  up  truffles,  the  hog  ploughs 
the  earth  with  his  snout,  and  the  dog  scratches  it  with  his  feet. 

Other  philosophers,  again,  have  taught,  that  the  functions  of 
the  senses  are  not  ordained  by  nature,  but  acquired  by  experience. 
For  example,  the  metaphysicians  have  written  much  about  the 
rectification  of  the  sense  of  sight,  by  means  of  touch ;  and  about 
what  they  call  the  acquired  perceptions  of  sight. 

Each  sense,  however,  performs  its  functions  in  consequence  of 
its  own  innate  constitution  alone,  and  the  relations  of  every  sense 


FIVE  EXTERNAL  SENSES.  339 

10  external  impressions  are  determinate,  and  subjected  to  positive 
laws.  If  an  odor  make  an  impression  upon  the  olfactory  nerve, 
the  impression  is  immediately  Ibund  to  be  agreeable  or  disagreeable; 
and  tliis  feeling  arises  from  the  constitution  of  the  sense,  and  the 
relation  established  betwixt  it  and  the  odorous  particles  which 
excite  it  to  activity.  The  functions  of  every  sense  depend  only 
on  its  peculiar  organization;  and  hence  no  preceding  exercise  or 
habit  is  necessary,  in  order  to  acquire  the  special  power  of  any 
sense.  If  the  organization  be  perfect,  the  functions  are  perfect 
also;  and  if  the  organization  be  diseased,  the  functions  are  deranged, 
notwithstanding  all  preceding  exercise.  If  the  optic  apparatus  be 
perfect  in  newly  hatched  birds,  their  sight  is  perfect;  as  is  the  case 
with  chickens,  ducks,  partridges,  and  quails:  If,  on  the  contrary, 
at  the  first  entrance  into  life,  the  organization  of  the  eyes  or  the 
ears  be  imperfect,  the  power  of  the  animal  to  see  or  hear  is  pro- 
portionally deficient.  In  adult  persons,  vision  is  deranged  if  the 
eyes  be  diseased.  In  old  persons,  the  functions  of  the  five  senses 
lose  their  energy,  because  the  vital  power  of  the  organs  is  dimin- 
ished. 

It  is  indeed  ridiculous  to  suppose  that  Nature  should  have  pro- 
duced any  sense  which  could  not  perform  its  functions,  without 
being  supported  by  another  and  a  different  sense: — that^  for  exam- 
ple, we  should  not  be  able  to  see  without  feeling,  or  to  hear 
without  seeing.  Hence  the  propositions  appear  self-evident,  — 
that  no  sense  acquires  its  functions  by  means  of  anv  other  sense, 
and  that  any  one  sense  cannot  be  the  instrument  of  producing  the 
sensations  experienced  by  means  of  all  the  senses  collectively. 
But  we  must  observe,  that  .different  senses  may  enable  us  to  per- 
ceive the  same  object;  and  that  one  sense  is  more  fitted  than 
another  to  make  us  acquainted  with  different  objects,  and  their 
qualities.  For  example,  we  may  obtain  a  conception  of  the  figure 
of  a  book,  by  means  of  the  sense  of  touch,  and  also  by  means  of 
the  sense  of  sight. 

Each  sense,  as  already  observed,  is  subject  to  its  own  positive 
laws.  For  example,  we  see,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  refrac- 
tion of  light ;  and  hence,  a  straight  rod    half  plunged   in    water 


340  FUNCTIONS    OF    THE 

appears  crooked,  although  touch  proves  that,  in  this  situation,  the 
rod  continues  straight. 

This  is  a  kind  of  rectification;  but  it  must  not  be  confounded  with 
the  doctrine  wliich  maintains  that  one  sense  acquires  its  functions 
by  means  of  the  rectification  of  anotlier  sense.  Touch  may  show, 
that  a  rod  which  is  plunged  in  water,  and  looks  crooked,  is  straight; 
but  the  eyes  will  see  it  crooked  as  before.  The  rectifications,  thus 
effected  by  the  senses,  are  mutual,  and  not  the  prerogative  of  one 
sense.  In  this  view,  the  eyes  may  rectify  the  sense  of  touch.  If, 
without  our  knowledge,  a  piece  of  thin  paper  be  placed  betwixt 
one  of  our  fingers  and  the  thumb,  we  may  not  feel,  but  we  may 
see  it.  Even  smell  and  taste  may  rectify  the  senses  of  seeing  and 
of  touch.  Thus,  many  fluids  look  like  water;  and  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  discover  them  to  be  different  substances  by  the  sense  of 
touch  ;  but  it  is  easy  to  do  so  by  smell  and  taste.  Thus  each 
sense  has  its  peculiar  and  independent  functions,  and,each  is  subject 
to  positive  laws.  But  every  sense  also  perceives  impressions  of 
which  another  is  not  susceptible;  and  it  is  in  consequence  of  this 
circumstance  that  the  external  senses  rectify  one  another;  or  rather 
produce,  by  their  co-operation,  an  extent  of  accurate  conception, 
which,  in  an  unconnected  state,  they  would  have  been  incapable 
of  producing. 

It  is  a  task  of  considerable  difficulty  to  point  out  accurately  the 
precise  Hmits  of  the  functions  of  the  senses,  because,  in  every  act 
of  perception,  their  instrumentality  is  combined  with  that  of  the 
internal  faculties  of  the  mind  ;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  discriminate  to 
what  extent  the  act  depends  upon  the  one,  and  to  what  extent  upon 
the  other.  For  the  elucidation  of  this  point,  I  submit  the  following 
considerations  to  the  attention  of  the  reader. 

The  senses  themselves  do  not  form  ideas.  For  example,  when 
an  impression  is  made  upon  the  hand,  it  is  not  the  organs  of  touch 
which  form  the  conception  of  the  object  making  the  impression ; 
but  the  nerves  of  feehng  in  the  hand  receive  the  impression,  com- 
municate it  to  the  brain,  and  a  faculty  of  the  mind  perceives  the 
object.  Without  the  nerves  of  feeling,  the  internal  faculty  could 
not  experience  the  perception  ;    because  the  medium  of  communi- 


FIVE  EXTERNAL  SENSES.  341 

cation  betwixt  it  and  the  object  would  be  wanting.  But  neither 
could  the  hand  experience  the  perception  without  the  instrumental- 
ity of  the  internal  faculty,  because  the  nerves  of  feeling  do  not 
perform  the  function  of  perception. 

Hence,  previous  to  every  perception,  there  must  be  an  impres- 
sion on  the  organs  of  sense ;  and  the  function  of  these  organs 
appears  to  consist  in  receiving  and  transmitting  this  impression  to 
the  brain  and  internal  faculties.  The  nature  of  the  impression 
depends  on  the  constitution  of  the  senses,  and  on  the  relations 
established  betwixt  them  and  external  objects;  and,  as  it  is  abso- 
lutely impossible  for  the  human  will  to  change  either  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  senses,  or  the  relations  betwixt  them  and  the  external 
world,  it  is  clearly  absurd  to  speak  of  acquired  impressions. 

But,  as  the  senses  are  constituted  with  a  determinate  relation  to 
external  objects,  so  the  brain  and  internal  faculties  are  constituted 
with  a  determinate  relation  to  the  organs  of  sense.  In  virtue  of 
the  first  relation,  a  certain  object  makes  a  certain  impression;  and, 
in  virtue  of  the  second,  a  certain  impression  gives  rise  to  a  certain 
perception;  and  both  depend  on  nature,  and  not  on  the  will,  nor  on 
exercise  or  habit. 

But  we  must  distinguish  betwixt  the  perceptions  we  experience 
of  external  objects,  and  the  inferences  concerning  their  qualities, 
which  we  draw  by  reasoning  from  these  perceptions.  All  those 
ideas  which  are  pure  perceptions  are  formed  intuitively,  on  the 
presentation  of  objects  fitted  to  excite  them.  Inferences  from 
these,  on  the  other  hand,  are  the  result  of  our  reasoning  powers. 
What  are  sometimes  called  "  acquired  perceptions,"  are  merely 
habits  of  reasoning,  from  the  impressions  naturally  made  on  the 
senses;  and  these  habits  are  just  as  much  a  part  of  our  nature  as  the 
original  perceptions.  It  appears  to  me,  that  the  Visible  and  tangi- 
ble appearances  of  bodies  are  simple  perceptions,  because,  after  the 
amplest  experience  of  some  of  these  being  deceitful,  we  cannot,  in 
the  slightest  degree,  alter  our  perceptions  of  them.  For  example, 
a  rod  half  immersed  in  water,  appears  crooked,  in  defiance  of  every 
endeavor  to  see  it  straight.  When  we  stand  three  or  four  yards 
distant  from  a  mirror,  and  perceive  our  image  in  it,  we  cannot,  by 


342  FUNCTIONS    OF    THE 

any  efforts,  succeed  in  perceiving  the  image  as  if  formed  on  the 
surface  of  the  mirror,  although  we  know  perfectly  that  it  is  so.  It 
appears  always  at  the  same  distance  behind  the  surface  as  we  are 
before  it.  If  a  picture  be  painted  according  to  the  rules  of  per- 
spective, and  the  laws  of  optics,  so  as  to  represent  a  vista  in  the 
country,  or  a  long  street  in  a  city,  we  are  altogether  incapable, 
when  in  the  proper  position  for  viewing  it,  of  perceiving  the  surface 
to  be  plain.  The  picture  appears  to  us  to  represent  objects  at 
different  distances,  and  the  most  determined  resolution  to  see  them 
all  equally  near,  is  of  no  avail,  although  we  know  that,  in  point  of 
fact,  they  are  so. 

If,  previous  to  experience,  all  objects  seen  by  the  eye  appear 
only  as  of  different  colors  and  shades,  and  all  equally  near,  although 
really  at  different  distances  ;  and  if  we  learn  by  experience  only, 
that  this  natural  appearance  is  deceitful,  and  that,  in  point  of  fact, 
one  object  is  near  and  another  distant;  I  cannot  perceive  a  reason 
why  we  might  not  learn  by  experience  also,  to  perceive  pictures  as 
plain  surface^,  and  images  as  if  formed  on  the  surfaces  of  mirrors  ; 
and,  in  short,  to  get  quit  altogether  of  the  illusions  of  optics.  If 
it  be  easy  to  acquire,  by  habit,  the  power  of  perceiving  objects  as 
at  different  distances,  which  naturally  appear  to  the  eye,  as  all 
equally  near,  it  ought  to  be  no  difficult  matter  to  learn  by  expe- 
rience, to  perceive  a  surface  to  be  plain  which  really  is  so,  after 
we  are  certain  of  the  fact  ;  and  yet,  I  have  never  heard  of  an 
instance  of  a  person  who  had  made  such  an  acquisition.  Color, 
Form,  Magnitude,  and  Distance,  appear  to  be  objects  of  intuitive 
perception;  and,  accordingly,  no  experience,  and  no  repetition  of 
acts  of  volition,  can  alter  such  appearances,  if  the  refraction  of 
light,  state  of  the  eye,  and  the  internal  faculties,  remain  the  same. 

The  following  appears  to  me  to  be  a  correct  mode  of  ascertain- 
ing the  limits  of  the  functions  of  the  senses :  Whatever  perceptions 
or  impressions  received  from  external  objects,  can  be  renewed  by 
an  act  of  recollection,  cannot  depend  exclusively  upon  the  senses; 
because  the  organs  of  sense  are  not  subject  to  the  will,  and  never 
produce  the  impressions  which  depend  upon  their  constitution, 
except  when  excited  by  an  external  cause.     On  the  other  hand. 


J 


FIVE    EXTERNAL   SENSES.  343 

whatever  impressions  we  are  unable  to  recall,  must,  for  the  same 
reason,  depend  on  the  senses  alone. 

These  principles  will  be  best  elucidated  by  examples.  For 
instance,  when  a  bell  has  been  rung  in  our  presence,  and  ceased, 
the  sound  cannot  be  recalled  by  an  effort  of  the  will ;  because  its 
existence  depended  on  the  apparatus  of  the  ear  being  in  a  certain 
state  of  excitation,  which  cannot  be  reproduced  by  an  act  of  voli- 
tion. Hence  sound  belongs  to  the  ear  alone.  But  if  an  individual 
is  endowed  with  the  internal  faculty  of  Tune,  and  if  a  piece  of 
music  be  played  over  in  his  presence,  then,  after  the  sound  of  the 
instrument  has  ceased,  although  he  cannot  recall  that  noise,  he  can 
with  facility  reproduce  the  internal  impressions  which  the  notes 
made  upon  his  mind  ;  in  short,  he  can  enjoy  the  tune  internally 
anew,  by  an  act  of  recollection.  The  power  of  experiencing  the 
perception  of  melody,  and  of  enjoying  the  impressions  which  it 
makes,  appears,  therefore,  to  depend  on  the  internal  faculty  of 
Tune,  while  the  sound  alone  depends  upon  the  ear.  Hence  the 
perfection  of  the  power  of  perceiving  melody  in  any  individual,  is 
not  in  proportion  to  the  perfection  of  the  external  ear  alone,  but  in 
joint  proportion  to  the  perfection  of  that  organ,  and  the  internal 
faculty.  Without  the  external  ear  the  internal  faculty  could  not 
receive  the  impressions  ;  but  the  external  ear  could  never  of  itself 
produce  the  perceptions  of  melody.  Accordingly,  we  see  every 
day  that  many  individuals  enjoy  the  sense  of  hearing  unimpaired, 
who  have  no  perception  of  melody.  The  same  principles  applied 
to  the  other  senses  will  point  out  distinctly  the  precise  limit  of  their 
functions.  We  may  take  an  example  from  the  sense  of  touch. 
If  we  embrace  a  square  body  with  the  hands,  certain  impressions 
are  made  on  the  nerves  of  touch,  called  Sensations,  in  consequence 
of  which  the  mind  forms  an  idea  of  the  figure  of  the  body.  Now, 
we  can  recall  the  conception  of  the  figure  ;  but  not  the  sensation 
which  excited  it.  The  conception,  therefore,  depends  on  an 
internal  faculty ;  the  sensation  on  the  nerves  of  touch.  The 
functions  of  the  nerves  of  touch  appear  to  produce  the  sensation; 
but  the  power  of  conceiving  is  not  in  invariable  proportion  to  the 
power  of  feeling,  but  in  proportion  to  the  perfection  of  the  internal 


344  FUNCTIONS   OF   THE 

faculty  and  the  external  senses  jointly.  The  perception,  however, 
depends  as  entirely  on  nature  as  the  sensation  ;  and  the  power  of 
perceiving  the  form  of  the  body  is  not  acquired  by  experience. 

Dr.  Spurzheim  observes  on  this  head,  that,  where  the  5a7?ie 
ideas  are  acquired  by  the  instrumentality  of  tivo  or  more  senses, 
the  ideas  cannot  possibly  be  formed  by  the  senses,  because  Nature, 
so  far  as  man  has  discovered,  never  endows  different  instruments 
with  the  same  functions,  in  the  same  individual.  For  example, 
we  can  acquire  ideas  of  Form  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  sense 
of  Sight,  and  likewise  by  means  of  Touch.  Now,  from  this 
circumstance  alone,  it  is  evident  that  the  conception  of  figure  is 
formed,  not  by  the  eyes,  or  by  the  nerves  of  Feeling,  because  this 
would  be  an  instance  of  two  separate  senses  performing  the  same 
functions  ;  but  by  an  internal  faculty,  which  perceives  Figure,  in 
consequence  of  impressions  made  on  either  of  these  two  different 
senses.  The  impressions  made  upon  the  eye  are  totally  different 
from  those  made  upon  the  nerves  of  Touch,  but  the  internal  faculty 
IS  adapted  by  nature  to  both ;  and  hence  the  same  perceptions  are 
experienced  by  means  of  the  same  faculty,  although  through  the 
instrumentahty  of  different  media ;  but  the  same  function  is  not 
performed  by  distinct  senses. 

These  views  of  the  functions  of  the  senses  are  illustrated  and 
confirmed  by  the  phenomena  which  take  place  when  the  organs 
of  Sense  are  diseased.  For  example,  when  the  Ear  becomes 
niflamed,  it  often  happens  that  spontaneous  sensations  of  sound  are 
experienced  ;  when  too  much  blood  flows  into  the  Eye,  impres- 
sions, hke  those  of  hght,  are  felt ;  when  the  nerves  of  Taste 
become  diseased,  disagreeable  savors  are  experienced  ;  when  the 
nerves  of  Touch  are  excited  by  internal  causes,  a  tickling  or  disa- 
greeable sensation  is  felt ;  when  the  muscular  system  is  relaxed  by 
nervous  diseases,  and  flying  spasms  occur  over  the  body,  impres- 
sions occasionally  arise  from  these  spasmodic  affections,  so  pre- 
cisely resembling  those  of  touch,  that  the  individual  is  at  a  loss  to 
distinguish  them. 

There  is  reason  to  conjecture  that  particular  parts  of  the  brain 
receive  the    impressions    transmitted   by   the    different    external 


FIVE   EXTERNAL    SENSES.  34.5 

senses,  and  that  it  is  by  their  instrumentality  that  the  gourmand  for 
instance  recalls  the  flavor  of  a  particular  dish.  He  cannot  repro- 
duce the  part  of  the  sensation  which  depends  on  the  activity  of  the 
nerves  of  taste,  but  he  can  recall  all  that  is  mental  in  the  percep- 
tion, or  that  depends  on  the  activity  of  any  part  of  the  brain. 

Every  one  is  acquainted  with  the  ridiculous  theories  which  have 
been  framed  by  philosophers,  to  account  for  the  phenomena 
of  perception.  Aristotle  taught,  says  Dr.  Reid,  "That,  as  our 
senses  cannot  receive  external  material  objects  themselves,  they 
receive  their  species,  that  is,  their  images  or  forms  without  the 
matter,  as  wax  receives  the  form  of  the  seal,  without  any  of  the 
matter  of  it."*  The  Platonists  differed  from  Aristotle  in  maintain- 
ing, "  That  there  exist  eternal  and  immutable  ideas,  which  were 
prior  to  the  objects  of  sense,  and  about  which  all  science  was 
employed."  They  agreed  with  him,  however,  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  these  ideas  are  perceived.  Two  thousand  years  after 
Plato,  Mr.  Locke  represents  our  manner  of  perceiving  external 
objects,  by  comparing  the  understanding  "to  a  closet,  wholly  shut 
from  light,  with  only  some  little  opening  left,  to  let  in  external  visi- 
ble resemblances  or  ideas  of  things  without."  The  notion  of  all 
these  philosophers  was,  that,  from  the  existence  of  these  images 
or  ideas,  the  mind  inferred,  by  a  process  of  reasoning,  the  exist- 
ence of  the  external  objects  themselves. 

Dr.  Reid  refuted,  by  a  very  simple  process,  these  doctrines. 
He  pointed  out  merely  the  fact,  that  the  mind  is  so  formed,  that 
certain  impressions,  produced  by  external  objects,  on  our  organs 
of  sense,  are  followed  by  certain  sensations  ;  and  that  these  sensa- 
tions are  followed  by  perceptions  of  the  existence  and  qualities. of 
the  bodies  by  which  the  impressions  are  made  ;  and  that  all  the 
steps  of  this  process  are  equally  involuntary  and  incomprehensible. 

It  will  at  once  be  perceived,  that  the  doctrine  here  laid  down 
regarding  the  functions  of  the  senses,  corresponds  precisely  with 
the  philosophy  of  Dr.  Reid. 

The  organs  of  each  sense  are  double;  and  yet  the  consciousness 
of  all  impressions  experienced  by  the  mind  is  single.  Various 
on  Intellectual  Powers,  p.  25. 

.  44 


346  FUNCTIONS   OF  THE 

theories  have  been  propounded  to  account  for  this  fact ;  but  none 
of  them  are  satisfactory.  Dr.  Gall  ventured  to  give  an  explan- 
ation different  from  all  these.  "  He  distinguishes  two  states  of 
activity  in  the  organs  of  the  senses,  calling  one  active,  the  other 
passive.  The  functions  are  passive,  if  performed  independently 
of  the  will  ;  the  eye,  for  instance,  necessarily  perceives  the  light 
which  falls  upon  it,  and  the  ear,  the  vibrations  propagated  to  it. 
Now,  we  perceive  passively  with  both  organs,  says  he ;  we  see 
with  both  eyes,  hear  with  both  ears,  but  the  active  state  is  confined 
to  one  organ,  and  commonly  to  the  strongest.  We  see  with  both 
eyes  at  the  same  time,  but  we  look  with  one  only ;  we  hear  with 
both  ears,  we  listen  only  with  one ;  we  feel  with  both  hands,  we 
touch  with  but  one,  &c. 

"There  is  no  doubt  that  we  look  with  one  eye  only.  In  placing 
a  pencil  or  any  other  thin  body  between  us  and  a  light,  keeping 
both  eyes  open,  and  throwing  the  axis  of  vision,  the  stick,  and  the 
light,  into  a  right  line,  did  we  look  with  both  eyes,  the  pencil 
should  occupy  the  diagonal,  and  its  shadow  fall  on  the  nose.  But 
this  always  falls  on  one  eye,  on  that  which  the  person,  who  makes 
the  experiment,  ordinarily  uses  in  looking  with  attention.  If  the 
pencil  be  kept  in  the  same  position,  and  the  eye  not  employed  in 
looking  be  shut,  the  relative  direction  of  the  objects  will  seem  to 
remain  the  same  ;  but  if  he  shut  the  eye  with  which  he  looked,  it 
will  be  altered,  and  the  pencil  will  appear  removed  far  from  its 
former  place.  Again,  let  any  one  look  at  a  point  but  a  little  way 
distant,  both  eyes  will  seem  directed  towards  it ;  let  him  then  shut 
his  eyes  alternately.  If  he  close  the  one  with  which  he  did  not 
look,  the  other  remains  motionless ;  but  if  he  shut  that  with  which  he 
looked,  the  other  turns  immediately  a  little  inwards,  in  order  to  fix 
the  point.  Moreover,  the  eyes  of  many  animals  are  placed  lat- 
erally, and  cannot  both  be  directed  at  once  to  the  same  object. 
Finally,  the  gestures  of  man  and  animals  prove  that  they  look  with 
one  eye,  and  listen  with  one  ear  ;  for  they  direct  one  eye  or  one 
ear  towards  the  object  to  be  seen  or  heai'd.* 

"  Notwithstanding  what  has  been  said,  Dr.   Gall's    explanation 
*  Dr.  Spurzheim's  Phrenology,  p.  251. 


FIVE   EXTERNAL   SENSES.  347 

seems  to  me,"  says  Dr.  Spurzheim,  "little  satisfactory.  Indeed, 
it  is  very  remarkable,  that  passively,  we  perceive,  at  the  same  time, 
the  impressions  of  both  organs  of  any  sense,  not  only  if  one,  but 
also  if  different,  objects  impress  the  two.  Even  different  impres- 
sions of  different  objects  may  be  perceived  by  both  organs  of  two 
senses  at  once.  We  may,  for  instance,  with  both  eyes  see  different 
objects  at  the  moment  that  with  both  ears  we  hear  different  sounds. 
As  soon  as  we  are  attentive,  however,  as  soon  as  we  look  or  listen, 
we  perceive  but  one  impression.  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  to 
attend  to  two  different  discourses  at  once.  The  leader  of  an 
orchestra  hears  passively  all  the  instruments,  but  he  cannot  be 
attentive  except  to  one.  The  rapidity  of  mental  action  deceives 
several,  and  makes  them  think  it  possible  to  attend  to  different 
objects  at  the  same  moment.  It  follows  that  there  is  a  difference 
between  the  active  and  passive  state  of  the  senses  ;  but  whether 
this  difference  suffices  to  explain  the  single  consciousness  of  every 
sense  is  another  question  ;   I  think  it  does  not. 

"  First,  this  explanation  would  only  apply  to  functions  in  their 
active,  not  at  all  in  their  passive  state  ;  and  the  cause  of  single 
consciousness  must  be  the  same  in  both.  Further,  the  active  state 
is  not  produced  by  the  external  senses  themselves,  any  more  than 
voluntary  motion  by  the  mere  muscles.  Some  internal  power 
renders  the  senses  active  ;  they  themselves  are  always  passive,  and 
merely  propagate  external  impressions  ;  they  appear  active  only, 
when  something  internal  employs  them  to  receive  and  to  transmit 
impressions  to  the  brain.  It  is  therefore  probable,  that  the  internal 
cause  which  excites  only  a  single  organ  of  the  external  senses  to 
activity,  is  also  the  cause  of  the  single  consciousness  of  different 
impressions.  Dr.  Gall's  explanation  of  single  consciousness  is 
consequently  not  only  grounded  upon  an  inaccurate  notion,  but 
would  be  far  from  satisfactory,  were  the  supposition  even  true."* 

The  mind  has  no  consciousness  either  of  the  ex:istence  of  the 
organs  of  sense,  or  of  the  functions  performed  by  them.  When 
the  table  is  struck,  and  we  attend  to  the  subject  of  our  own  con- 
sciousness, we  perceive  the  impression  of  a  sound ;  but  by  this 
*  Lib.  cit.  p.  223. 


348  FUNCTIONS    OF   THE 

attention  we  do  not  discover  that  the  impression  has  been  ex- 
perienced by  the  instrumentality  of  any  organ  whatever.  Hence 
the  perceptions  of  the  mind  are  ahvays  directed  to  the  objects 
which  make  the  impressions,  and  not  to  the  instruments  by  means 
of  which  the  impressions  are  experienced.  The  instruments 
perform  their  functions  under  Nature's  care  ;  and,  as  has  been 
already  observed,  are  not  subject  to  the  will.  We  should  have 
been  distracted,  not  benefited,  by  a  consciousness  of  their  internal 
action,  when  they  perform  their  functions.  It  is  when  they  be- 
come diseased  that  we  become  conscious  of  their  action,  and  then 
the  consciousness  is  painful.  Every  one  must  be  sensible  of  this 
fact,  whose  eyes  or  ears  have  been  diseased. 

Dr.  Spurzheim  observes,  that  "  the  brain  seems  to  be  necessary 
to  every  kind  of  perception,  even  to  that  of  the  immediate  func- 
tions of  the  external  senses  ;  but  it  is  not  yet  ascertained,  though  it 
is  probable,  that  one  fundamental  power,  inherent  in  a  particular 
part  of  the  brain,  knows  and  conceives  as  sensations,  all  the  varied 
impressions  made  on  the  external  senses.  Some  phrenologists 
think  that  each  external  sense  has  a  peculiar  portion  of  brain  for 
this  end,  and  that  the  combined  action  of  its  nerve  and  of  this 
cerebral  part,  is  necessary  to  the  accomplishment  of  its  functions. 
That  the  nerve  of  taste  and  a  portion  of  brain,  for  instance,  are 
necessary  to  perceive  savors  ;  the  olfactory  nerve  and  a  cerebral 
part,  to  distinguish  odors,  &c.  I  do  not  believe  that  consciousness 
happens  without  brain,  but  I  see  no  reason  to  surmise  that  the 
immediate  functions  of  each  external  sense  require  a  particular 
portion  of  the  brain,  in  order  to  be  recognised  as  determinate 
sensations."     (Dr.  Spurzheim's  Phrenology,  p.  289.) 

After  these  general  considerations,  which  apply  to  all  the  external 
senses,  a  few  words  may  be  added  on  the  specific  functions  of 
each  sense  in  particular. 


FEELING    OR    TOUCH. 

Dr.  Spurzheim  inferred,  from  pathological  facts,  that  the  nerves 
of  motion  must  be  distinct  from  the  nerves  of  feeling  ;  and  subse- 


FIVE   EXTERNAL    SENSES.  349 

quent  experiments  have  proved  his  inference  to  be  well  founded. 
This  subject  has  been  treated  of  on  page  54.  The  sense  of  feelinji; 
is  continued,  not  only  over  the  whole  external  surface  of  the  body, 
but  even  over  the  intestinal  canal.  It  gives  rise  to  the  sensations 
of  pain  and  pleasure  ;  of  the  variations  of  temperature  ;  and  of 
dryness  and  moisture.  These  cannot  be  recalled  by  the  will ;  and 
1  therefore  consider  them  as  depending  on  the  sense  alone.  The 
impressions  made  upon  this  sense  serve  as  the  means  of  exciting 
in  the  mind  perceptions  of  figure,  of  roughness  and  smoothness, 
and  numerous  other  classes  of  ideas  ;  but  the  power  of  experienc- 
ing these  perceptions,  is  in  proportion  to  the  perfection  of  certain 
internal  faculties,  and  of  the  sense  of  touch  jointly,  and  not  in 
proportion  to  the  perfection  of  this  sense  alone. 


The  functions  of  this  sense  are,  to  produce  sensations  of  taste 
alone  ;  and  these  cannot  be  recalled  by  the  will.  We  may  judge 
of  the  qualities  of  external  bodies,  by  means  of  the  impressions 
made  on  this  sense  ;  but  to  form  ideas  of  such  qualities  is  the 
province  of  the  internal  faculties. 


SMELL. 

By  means  of  smell,  the  external  world  acts  upon  man  and  ani- 
mals from  a  distance.  Odorous  particles  are  conveyed  from 
bodies,  and  inform  sentient  beings  of  the  existence  of  the  sub- 
stances from  which  they  emanate.  The  functions  of  smell  are 
confined  to  the  producing  of  agreeable  or  disagreeable  sensations, 
when  the  organ  is  so  affected.  These  cannot  be  reproduced  by  an 
effort  of  the  will.  Various  ideas  are  formed  of  the  qualities  of 
external  bodies,  by  the  impressions  which  they  make  upon  this 
sense  ;  but  these  ideas  are  formed  by  the  internal  faculties  of  the 
mind. 


350  FUNCTIONS    OF    THE 


HEARING. 


In  new-born  children,  this  sense  is  not  yet  active  ;  but  it  im- 
proves by  degrees,  and  in  proportion  as  the  vigor  of  the  organ 
increases.  It  is  a  very  common  opinion,  that  music,  and  the 
faculty  of  speech,  are  the  result  of  the  sense  of  hearing  ;  but  this 
notion  is  erroneous. 

As  already  mentioned,  the  auditory  apparatus  being  excited  to 
activity  by  an  external  cause,  produces  only  the  impression  of 
sound  :  and  here  its  functions  terminate.'  If,  besides,  the  faculty 
of  Tune  is  possessed  by  any  individual,  melody  in  sounds  is  per- 
ceived by  that  faculty.  If  the  faculty  is  not  possessed,  such  per- 
ceptions cannot  exist.  Hence,  among  birds,  the  female  hears  as 
well  as  the  male  ;  and  yet  the  song  of  the  male  is  very  much 
superior  to  that  of  the  female.  Among  mankind,  also,  many  indi- 
viduals hear,  and  yet  are  insensible  to  melody.  Thus,  both  in 
man  and  other  animals,  there  is  no  proportion  betwixt  the  perfec- 
tion of  hearing,  and  the  perfection  of  the  power  of  perceiving 
melody.  If  it  were  part  of  the  functions  of  the  auditory  appa- 
ratus to  give  the  perception  of  melody,  how  does  it  happen  that,  in 
one  individual,  the  apparatus  can  perform  only  one-half  of  its  func- 
tions, while  in  others  it  performs  the  whole?  This  is  not  like 
Nature's  work.  Finally,  hearing  cannot  produce  music  ;  because 
the  auditory  apparatus  is  excited  only  by  sounds,  which  are  already 
produced.  The  first  musician  began  to  produce  music  before  he 
had  heard  it  ;  and  he  did  so  from  an  internal  impulse  given  by  a 
faculty  of  the  mind.  Singing-birds,  moreover,  which  have  been 
hatched  by  strange  females,  sing  naturally,  and  without  any  instruc- 
tion, the  song  of  their  species,  as  soon  as  their  internal  organization 
is  active.  Hence  the  males  of  every  species  preserve  their  natural 
song,  though  they  have  been  brought  up  in  the  society  of  individ- 
uals of  a  different  kind.  Hence  also  musicians,  who  have  lost 
their  hearing,  continue  to  compose.  They  possess  the  internal 
faculty;  and  it  being  independent  of  the  auditory  apparatus,  con- 
ceives the  impressions  which  different  sounds  naturally  produce, 


FIVE    EXTERNAL    SENSES.  351 

long  after  the  ear  has  ceased  to  be  capable  of  allowing  these  sounds 
to  be  experienced  anew  ;  hence,  likewise,  deaf  and  dumb  persons 
have  an  innate  sentiment  of  measure  and  cadence.  Though, 
however,  hearing  does  not  produce  music,  yet,  without  an  auditory- 
apparatus,  fitted  to  receive  the  impressions  made  by  tones,  melody 
could  not  be  perceived  ;  and,  unless  that  apparatus  had  once  been 
possessed,  neither  could  melody  be  produced,  because  the  individ- 
ual could  not  judge  of  the  impressions  which  the  sounds  he  made 
were  fitted  to  make  upon  those  who  hear. 

It  is  a  very  common  opinion  also,  that  hearing  alone,  or  hearing 
and  voice  jointly,  produce  the  faculty  of  speech.  This  error  will 
be  refuted,  by  considering  in  what  any  language  consists,  and  how 
every  language  is  produced.  Language  has  been  divided  into  two 
kinds,  natural  and  artificial.  In  both  kinds,  a  certain  sign  is  used 
to  indicate  to  others  certain  feelings  or  ideas  of  the  mind.  Various 
motions  of  the  body,  and  expressions  of  the  countenance,  indicate, 
the  moment  they  are  beheld,  certain  emotions  and  sentiments.  In 
this  case,  the  expression  of  the  countenance,  or  the  motion  of  the 
body,  is  a  sign  fitted  by  nature  to  excite  in  us  the  perception  of 
the  feeling.  It  is  obvious,  that  the  power  of  the  sign,  in  this  case, 
to  excite  the  perception,  does  not  depend  either  upon  hearing  or 
voice  ;  for  neither  is  employed  in  producing  it :  but  that  the  effect 
is  an  ultimate  fact  of  our  constitution,  which  must  be  referred  to 
the  will  of  our  Creator.  Besides  these  signs,  however,  we  make 
use  of  many  others  to  communicate  our  thoughts,  which  have  no' 
original  connexion  with  the  things  signified.  For  example,  the 
word  TABLE  has  no  necessary  connexion  with  the  thing  upon 
which  I  now  write.  How,  then,  does  the  word  come  to  indicate 
the  thing?  The  internal  faculties  first  conceive  the  object :  having 
done  so,  they  wish  to  fix  upon  a  sign  by  which  that  conception 
shall  be  always  indicated  again.  They,  therefore,  employ  the  voice 
to  make  the  sound  which  we  express  when  we  utter  the  word 
table.  The  thing  itself  being  pointed  out,  and  the  sound  being 
uttered  at  the  same  time,  the  meaning  of  it  comes  to  be  under- 
stood ;  and  hence  every  time  it  is  pronounced,  the  idea  of  the 
thing  is  suggested.     But  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  auditory 


352  FUNCTIONS   OF  THE 

apparatus,  or  the  organs  of  voice,  conceive  the  idea  of  tiie  table. 
This  was  done  by  the  internal  faculties  alone  ;  and  these  merely 
made  use  of  the  organs  of  voice  as  instruments  for  pi'oducing  a 
sign.  Hence  the  reason  why  monkeys  do  not  speak  is,  not 
because  they  want  the  sense  of  hearing,  and  organs  of  voice,  but 
because  they  have  not  certain  internal  faculties,  which  fix  upon 
signs  to  indicate  the  conceptions  formed  by  the  mind. 

The  proper  function,  then,  of  the  sense  of  hearing,  is  confined 
to  the  production  of  the  impressions  which  we  call  sounds  ;  yet  it 
assists  a  great  number  of  internal  faculties. 

The  auditory  nerve  has  a  more  intimate  connexion  with  the 
organs  of  the  moral  sentiments,  than  with  those  of  the  intellectual 
faculties. 


This  fifth  and  last  of  the  senses,  is  the  second  of  those  which 
inform  man  and  other  animals  of  remote  objects,  by  means  of  an 
intermedium ;  and  the  intermedium,  in  this  instance,  is  Light. 

This  sense  has  been  said  to  acquire  its  functions  by  touch  or  by 
habit.  Bishop  Berkley  is  supposed  by  the  metaphysicians  to  have 
discovered  the  true  theory  of  vision,  and  the  result  of  his  investiga- 
tion is,  "  that  a  man  born  blind,  being  made  to  see,  would  not  at 
first  have  any  idea  of  distance  by  sight.  The  sun  and  stars,  the 
remotest  objects  as  well  as  the  nearest,  would  all  seem  to  be  in 
his  eye,  or  rather  in  his  mind." — Stewart's  Dissert,  p.  ii.  109. 
Dr.  Reid,  and  many  other  philosophers,  have  written  ingenious 
disquisitions,  to  show  that  our  perceptions  of  distance,  figure,  and 
motion,  are  acquired.  "  Philosophy,"  says  Mv.  James  Mill,  "has 
ascertained  that  we  derive  nothing  from  the  eye  whatever  but 
sensations  of  color ;  that  the  idea  of  extension  in  whidh  size,  and 
form,  and  distance  are  included,  is  derived  from  sensations  not  in 
the  eye,  but  in  the  muscular  part  of  our  frame.  How  then  is  it 
that  we  receive  accurate  information,  by  the  eye,  of  size  and 
shape,  and  distance.''  By  association  merely."  Analysis  of  the 
Phenomena  of  the  Human  Mind,  vol.  i.  chap.  iii.  p.  73.  These 
speculations  have  proceeded  on  the  principle,  that  Nature  has  done 


FIVE  EXTERNAL  SENSES.  353 

little  for  man,  and  that  he  does  a  great  deal  for  huDself,  in  endow- 
ing himself  with  perceptive  powers.  But  vision  depends  on  the 
organization  of  the  eye  ;  and  is  weak  or  energetic,  as  the  organiza- 
tion is  imperfect  or  perfect.  Some  animals  come  into  the  world 
with  perfect  eyes  ;  and  these  see  perfectly  from  the  first.  The 
butterfly  and  honey-bee  fly  at  the  first  attempt,  through  fields  and 
flowery  meadows;  and  the  young  partridge  and  chicken  run  through 
stubble  and  corn  fields.  The  sparrow,  on  taking  its  first  flight 
from  the  nest,  does  not  strike  its  head  against  a  wall,  or  mistake 
the  root  of  a  tree  for  its  branches  ;  and  yet,  previous  to  its  first 
attempt  at  flight,  it  can  have  no  experience  of  distance. 

On  the  other  hand,  animals  which  come  into  the  world  with 
eyes  in  an  imperfect  state,  distinguish  size,  shape,  and  distance, 
only  by  degrees.  This  last  is  the  case  with  new-born  children. 
During  the  first  six  weeks  after  birth,  their  eyes  are  almost  insen- 
sible to  light ;  and  it  is  only  by  degrees  that  they  become  fit  to 
perform  their  natural  functions.  When  the  organs  are  so  far 
matured,  however,  the  children  see,  without  habit  or  education, 
as  well  and  as  accurately  as  the  greatest  philosopher. 

Indeed,  as  has  been  formerly  mentioned,  the  kind  of  perception 
which  we  enjoy  by  means  of  the  eyes,  is  dependent  solely  on  the 
constitution  of  the  eyes,  and  the  relation  established  betwixt  them 
and  the  refraction  of  light.  So  little  power  has  experience  to  alter 
the  nature  of  our  perceptions,  that  even  in  some  cases  where  we 
discover,  by  other  senses,  that  the  visible  appearance  of  objects 
is  illusive,  we  still  continue  to  see  that  appearance  the  same  as 
before.  For  example,  the  greatest  philosopher,  standing  at  one 
end  of  a  long  alley  of  trees,  cannot  see  the  opposite  rows  equally 
distant  from  one  another  at  the  farthest  end,  as  they  appear  to  be 
at  the  end  nearest  to  him,  even  after  experience  has  satisfied  him 
that  the  fact  really  is  so.  He  must  see  according  to  the  laws  of 
perspective,  which  make  the  receding  rows  appear  to  approach; 
and  there  is  no  difference  in  this  respect,  betwixt  his  perceptions, 
and  those  of  the  most  untutored  infant.  In  Hke  manner,  the  great- 
est philosopher,  on  looking  into  a  concave  spoon,  cannot  see  his 
right  hand  upon  the  left  side,  and  his  left  hand  upon  the  right  side, 
45 


354  FUNCTIONS    OP    THE 

even  after  he  has  learned,  by  the  study  of  the  laws  of  optics,  that 
the  image  of  himself,  which  he  sees  in  the  spoon,  is  reversed. 

So  confident,  however,  is  Mr.  Stewart  in  the  opinion  that  we 
learn  to  see,  and  do  not  see  instinctively,  that  he  says,  "  Condillac 
first  thought  that  the  eye  judges  naturally  of  figures,  of  magnitudes, 
of  situations,  and  of  distances.  He  afterwards  was  convinced  that 
this  was  an  error,  and  retracted  it."  Stewart  adds,  "nothing 
short  of  his  own  explicit  avowal  could  have  convinced  me,  that  a 
writer  of  such  high  pretensions,  and  of  such  unquestionable  inge- 
nuity as  Condillac,  had  really  commenced  his  metaphysical  career 
under  so  gross  and  unaccountable  delusion."  Mr.  Stewart  also 
expresses  his  surprise,  that  Aristotle  should  maintain  that  it  is  not 
from  seeing  often  or  from  hearing  often,  that  we  get  these  senses  ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  instead  of  getting  them  by  using  them,  we 
use  them  because  we  have  got  them." 

It  is  worth  while  to  inquire  on  what  grounds  the  metaphysicians 
maintain  such  extraordinary  opinions.  They  are  two :  first,  The 
fact  that  new-born  children  miss  the  object  they  mean  to  seize,  and 
show  clearly  that  they  do  not  appreciate  size,  distance,  and  relative 
position  accurately  :  Secondly,  The  fact  that  a  blind  man  couched 
,  by  Chesselden,  on  the  first  influx  of  light  to  the  retina,  saw  all 
external  objects  as  situated  in  his  eye,  and  after  a  few  weeks  per- 
ceived distance  and  magnitude  hke  ordinary  persons.  From  these 
facts,  the  metaphysicians  infer  that  the  human  being  does  not  per- 
ceive distance,  size  and  form  instinctively,  but  learns  to  do  so  by 
experience.  The  answers  are  obvious.  The  eye  in  the  child  is 
not  perfect  till  six  weeks  after  birth.  The  eye  newly  couched  is 
not  a  sound  eye  instantly,  nor  do  the  muscles  and  various  parts 
which  had  lain  dormant  for  thirty  years,  act  with  perfect  effect  at 
the  first  attempt,  amid  the  irritation  and  torment  of  a  painful  opera- 
tion ;  and,  even  admitting  that  the  eye  was  perfectly  sound,  the 
internal  organs  which  perceive  the  distance  are  not  so.  By  disuse, 
every  organ  of  the  body  becomes  unfitted  for  the  due  performance 
of  its  functions.  In  civilized  nations,  the  muscles  of  the  external 
ear  being  prevented  from  acting  during  cliildhood,  by  the  head- 
dress, not  only  lose  all  contractile  power,  but  actually  dwindle  into 


FIVE  EXTERNAL  SENSES.        '       355 

nothing.  In  the  savage  state,  the  power  of  moving  the  ear  is  often 
as  perfect  in  man  as  in  the  lower  animals.  The  same  unfitness  for 
action  is  observed  after  long  confinement  of  a  limb  for  the  cure  of 
fracture,  &c.,  and  the  muscles  diminish  in  size.  In  the  same  way, 
during  blindness,  the  organs  which  judge  of  color  and  distance 
never  are  called  into  action,  and  therefore  become,  to  a  certain 
degree,  unable  to  execute  their  functions,  and  it  is  only  by  degrees 
that  they  acquire  sufficient  energy  to  do  so. 

Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  whose  acuteness  I  shall  have  frequent 
occasion  to  notice  and  to  praise,  admits  that  the  lower  animals 
perceive  distance  instinctively ;  and,  although,  on  the  whole,  he 
agrees  in  the  opinions  of  Berkley,  Reid,  and  Stewart,  yet  he  holds 
the  opposite  opinion,  which  the  phrenologists  maintain,  as  far  from 
ridiculous.  "  It  is,"  says  he,  "not  more  wonderful,  a  priori,  that 
a  sensation  of  color  should  be  immediately  folloioed  by  the  notion 
of  a  mile  of  distance,  than  that  the  irritation  of  the  nostril,  by 
any  very  stimulant  odor,  should  be  immediately  and  involuntarily 
followed  by  the  sudden  contraction  of  a  distant  muscular  organ, 
like  the  diaphragm,  which  produces,  in  sneezing,  the  violent  expi- 
ration necessary  for  expelling  the  acrid  matter." — Vol.  ii.  p.  69. 

It  is  very  true  that  Nature  does  not  give  us  intuitive  perceptions 
of  the  number  of  feet  or  inches  at  which  any  object  is  distant  from 
us;  because  these  are  artificial  measures,  with  which  nature  has 
nothing  to  do.  But  when  two  objects,  equal  in  size,  are  presented 
to  the  eye,  the  one  double  in  point  of  distance  to  the  other,  the 
mind  has  always  an  intuitive  perception  that  they  are  not  equally- 
near,  unless  the  external  or  internal  organs,  or  both,  are  deficient 
or  deranged. 

What,  then,  are  the  true  functions  of  the  eye  ?  No  organ  of 
sense  forms  ideas.  The  eye,  therefore,  only  receives,  modifies 
and  transmits  the  impressions  of  hght ;  and  here  its  functions  cease. 
Internal  faculties  form  conceptions  of  the  figure,  color,  distance, 
and  other  attributes  of  the  objects  making  the  impressions  :  and  the 
power  of  forming  these  conceptions  is  in  proportion  to  the  per- 
fection of  the  eyes  and  the  internal  faculties  jointly,  and  not  in 
proportion  to  the  perfection  of  the  eyes  alone.     Hence  the  lower 


356  INDIVIDUALITY. 

animals,  although  they  have  eyes  equal  in  perfection  to  those  of 
man,  are  not  able  to  form  the  ideas  of  the  qualities  of  bodies, 
which  he  forms  by  means  of  his  internal  faculties,  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  eye,  because  in  them  the  internal  faculties 
are  wanting. 

The  senses  may  be  exercised,  and  their  powers  greatly  improv- 
ed, by  exercise.  The  taste  of  the  gourmand  is  more  acute  than 
that  of  the  peasant ;  and  the  touch  of  the  artisan  than  that  of  the 
ploughman. 


Genus  II.  —  intellectual  faculties  which  per- 
ceive THE  existence  OF  EXTERNAL  OBJECTS  AND 
THEIR    PHYSICAL    QUALITIES. 

The  faculties  now  to  be  treated  of  take  cognizance  of  the 
existence  and  qualities  of  external  objects.  They  correspond,  in 
some  degree,  to  the  Perceptive  Powers  of  the  metaphysicians ; 
and  form  ideas.  Their  action  is  attended  with  a  sensation  of 
pleasure,  but  (except  in  the  case  of  Tune)  it  is  weak,  compared 
to  the  emotions  produced  by  the  faculties  already  treated  of ;  and 
the  higher  the  functions,  the  less  vivid  is  the  emotion  attending 
their  active  state.  In  judging  of  the  size  of  these  organs,  the 
rules  laid  down  on  pages  82.  and  85.  require  to  be  particularly 
attended  to. 

22. INDIVIDUALITY. 

This  organ  is  situated  in  the  middle  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
forehead,  immediately  above  the  top  of  the  nose.  When  large,  it 
produces  breadth  and  descent  between  the  eye  brows,  at  that 
part ;  when  small,  the  eye-brows  approach  closely  to  each  other, 


INDIVIDUALITY. 


357 


and  lie   in   a  horizontal  line.     The  figure   of  King  George  III. 
shows  the  organ  large  ;  that  of  Curran  moderate. 


King  George  III. 


J.  P.  Curran. 


Individuality,  22,  large  j 
and  Form,  23,  large 


Individuality,  22,  moderate : 
Form  small 


In  surveying  the  external  world,  we  may  observe,  1st,  Objects 
simply  as  substances  or  existences,  such  as  a  rock,  a  horse,  a  tree, 
a  man  ;  these  perceptions  are  designated  by  substantives  ;  in  the 
next  place,  the  properties  or  attributes  of  things  which  exist,  such 
as  their  form,  size,  weight,  color,  number  ;  3dly,  their  relations 
to  other  objects,  such  as  their  place  and  order  of  arrangement. 
After  these  perceptions,  we  may  notice  their  active  phenomena, 
the  rock  falls,  the  horse  runs,  the  tree  grows,  the  man  walks  ; 
these  actions  are  designated  by  verbs.  As  size,  form,  weight,  and 
colors  are  adjuncts  of  physical  existence.  Time  is  an  adjunct  of 
action.  Now,  the  faculty  of  Individuality  observes  objects  which 
exist ;  it  gives  the  notion  of  substance,  and  forms  the  class  of  ideas 
represented  by  nouns  when  used  without  an  adjective,  as  rock, 
man,  horse.  We  owe  to  Dr.  Spurzheim  the  discovery  of  the 
organ,  and  analysis  of  its  functions. 

The  faculty  gives  the  desire,  accompanied  with  the  ability,  to 
know  objects  as  mere  existences,  without  regard  to  their  modes 
of  action,  or  the  purposes  to  which  they  may  be  subservient. 
Individuals  in  whom  it  is  large,  will  observe  and  examine  an  object 
with  intense  delight,  without  the  least  consideration  whence  it  has 
come,  or  to  what  it  may  be  applied,  a  quality  of  mind  which  is 
almost  incomprehensible  to  persons  in  whom  the  organ  is  small 
and  Causality  large.  It  prompts  to  observation,  and  is  a  great 
element  in  a  genius  for  those  sciences  which  consist  in  a  know- 


358  INDIVIDUALITY. 

ledge  of  specific  existences,  such  as  natural  history.  It  leads  to 
giving  a  specific  form  to  all  the  ideas  entertained  by  the  mind.  A 
student  in  whom  this  organ  is  small,  and  the  reflecting  organs 
large,  may  have  his  mind  stored  with  general  principles  of  science, 
and  with  abstract  ideas,  but  will  experience  much  difficulty  in 
reducing  them  into  precise  and  specific  forms.  Another,  in  whom 
this  organ  is  large,  will  have  all  his  knowledge  individualized ;  if 
he  hear  lectures  or  conversation  in  which  general  views  chiefly 
are  presented,  he  will  render  them  specific  for  himself;  but  unless 
his  reflecting  organs  also  be  large,  he  will  be  prone  to  miss  the 
essential  principle,  to  seize  upon  the  most  palpable  circumstance 
attending  it,  and  to  embrace  this  as  his  conception  of  it.  Such 
persons  are  learned,  and  owing  to  the  store  of  facts  with  which 
their  memories  are  replenished,  to  the  great  definiteness  and  pre- 
cision of  their  ideas,  and  the  readiness  with  which  they  command 
them,  they  often  take  a  lead  in  public  business ;  but  if  their  reflect- 
ing organs  are  deficient,  they  show  no  depth  or  comprehensiveness 
of  understanding ;  they  do  not  advance  the  principles  of  science, 
and  rarely  acquire  a  permanent  reputation. 

In  common  life,  this  organ  large,  confers  a  talent  for  observa- 
tion, curiosity  to  know,  and  aptitude  for  acquiring  knowledge  of 
details.  The  character  of  Miss  Pratt,  as  drawn  by  the  author 
of  "Inheritance,"  a  novel,  is  a  personification  of  Individuahty, 
when  predominantly  powerful,  and  not  directed  by  higher  faculties. 
"But  people  who  make  use  of  their  eyes,"  says  this  author, 
"  have  often  much  to  see,  even  between  two  doors  ;  and  in  her 
progress  from  the  hall  door  to  the  drawing  room,  JWiss  Pratt  met 
with  much  to  attract  her  attention.  True,  all  the  objects  were 
perfectly  familiar  to  her  ;  but  a  real  looker,  like  a  great  genius,  is 
never  at  a  loss  for  a  subject  —  things  are  either  better  or  worse 
since  they  saw  them  last  —  or  if  the  things  themselves  should 
happen  to  be  the  same,  they  have  seen  other  things,  either  better 
or  worse,  and  can  therefore  either  approve  or  disapprove  of  them. 
Miss  Pratt's  head  then  turned  from  side  to  side  a  thousand  times 
as  she  went  along,  and  a  thousand  observations  and  criticisms 
about  stair-carpets,  patent-lamps,  hall-chairs,  slab-tables,  &c.  &c. 


INDIVIDUALITY.  359 

&c.  passed  through  her  crowded  brain. — At  length  Miss  Pratt 
and  Mr.  Lindsay  were  announced,  and  thereupon  entered  Miss 
Pratt  in  a  quick  paddling  manner,  as  if  in  all  haste  to  greet  her 
friends." — '-'■Miss  Pratt  then  appeared  to  her  (Gertrude)  a 
person  from  whom  nothing  could  be  hid.  Her  eyes  were  not 
by  any  means  fine  eyes — they  were  not  reflecting  eyes — they  were 
not  soft  eyes — they  were  not  sparkling  eyes — they  were  not  pene- 
trating eyes ;  neither  were  they  restless  eyes,  nor  rolling  eyes,  nor 
squinting  eyes,  nor  prominent  eyes — but  they  were  active,  brisk, 
busy,  vigilant,  immovable  eyes,  that  looked  as  if  they  could  not 
be  surprised  by  any  thing — not  even  by  sleep.  They  never  look- 
ed angry,  nor  joyous,  or  perturbed,  or  melancholy,  or  heavy ;  but 
morning,  noon,  and  night  they  shone  the  same,  and  conveyed  the 
same  impression  to  the  beholder,  viz.  that  they  were  eyes  that  had 
a  look — not  like  the  look  of  Sterne's  monk,  beyond  this  world — 
but  a  look  into  all  things  on  the  face  of  this  world.  Her  other 
features  had  nothing  remarkable  in  them  ;  but  the  ears  might  evi- 
dently be  classed  under  the  same  head  with  the  eyes — they  were 
something  resembling  rabbits' — long,  prominent,  restless,  vibrating 
ears,  for  ever  listenmg,  and  never  shut  by  the  powers  of  thought." 
From  communicating  this  talent  of  observation.  Individuality 
greatly  assists  Imitation  in  promoUng  raimickry.  The  organ  is 
large  in  Matthews,  and  it  is  obvious  that  accurate  observation  of  the 
manners  and  appearances  of  men  is  a  fundamental  element  in  a 
talent  such  as  his,  of  portraying  on  the  stage  living  Individuals  in 
their  minutest  peculiarities. 

When  the  organ  is  deficient,  the  individual  fails  to  observe 
objects  that  exist  around  him;  he  may  visit  a  house,  and  come  away 
without  knowing  what  objects  were  in  the  rooms .  Such  a  person 
walks  in  the  streets,  or  through  the  country,  and  observes  nothing. 
In  short,  although  the  external  senses  are  in  perfect  health,  owing 
to  the  feebleness  of  this  observing  power,  they  are  not  called  into 
activity  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  knowledge. 

This  organ,  when  large,  prompts  to  discovery  by  observation. 
Persons  so  endowed  do  not  seek  to  arrive  at  new  truths  by  reason- 
ing, but  mquire  at  nature,  at  men,  at  books  for  information  ;  and 


360  INDIVIDUALITY. 

hence,  many  brilliant  physical  discoveries  have  been  made  by  per- 
sons largely  endowed  with  these  and  the  other  perceptive  organs, 
whose  reflecting  faculties  have  not  surpassed  mediocrity.  Since 
Bacon's  rules  of  philosophizing  have  been  duly  appreciated  and 
become  fashionable,  science  has  been  extensively  and  successfully 
cultivated  by  a  class  of  minds,  which,  while  the  method  of  specula- 
tive reasoning  prevailed,  was  excluded  from  such  pursuits.  This 
class  is  composed  of  persons  in  whom  the  organ  under  consider- 
ation greatly  predominates  over  those  of  the  reflecting  powers. 
Such  individuals  are  constituted  by  nature  to  become  observers; 
and  natural  history,  particularly  botany,  anatomy,  and  even  chem- 
istry, are  great  departments  of  knowledge  fitted  for  the  exercise 
of  their  peculiar  talent.  The  substance  of  these  sciences  consists 
in  a  knowledge  of  the  existence,  appearances,  and  properties  of 
natural  objects  as  facts;  and  we  need  not  be  surprised  to  meet  with 
eminent  professors  in  these  branches,  in  whose  heads  the  knowing 
organs  predominate  over  the  reflecting. 

To  the  artist  this  organ  is  of  great  importance.  It  enables  him 
to  give  body  and  substance  to  the  conceptions  of  his  other  faculties, 
and  confers  on  him  a  capacity  for  attending  to  detail.  In  the 
pictures  of  an  artist  in  whose  head  Individuality  is  deficient,  there 
is  an  abstractness  of  conception,  and  a  vagueness  of  expression,  that 
greatly  detract  from  their  effect.  In  the  works  of  an  individual  in 
whom  these  organs  are  large,  every  object  appears  full  of  substance 
and  reality;  and  if  he  paints  portraits,  the  spectator  will  be  so 
impressed  with  their  Individuality,  that  he  will  be  apt  to  fancy 
himself  acquainted  with  the  originals. 

Persons  who  excel  at  whist,  generally  possess  it  and  Eventuality 
large.  If  both  of  the  organs  be  deficient,  eminence  will  not  easily 
be  attained  in  this  game. 

This  faculty  gives  the  tendency  to  personify  notions  and  pheno- 
mena, or  to  ascribe  existence  to  mere  abstractions  of  the  mind,  such 
as  Ignorance,  Folly,  or  Wisdom. 

The  organ  was  large  in  Sheridan,  and  it  is  large  in  Sir  Walter 
Scott.  It  is  small  in  the  Scots  in  general;  it  is  larger  in  the 
English,  and  still  larger  in  the  French. 


FORM.  361 

The  frontal  sinus  is  generally  present  at  the  situation  of  this 
organ  in  adults,  and  this  throws  a  difficulty  in  the  way  of  judging 
of  its  size.  The  function,  however,  is  ascertained,  by  observing 
young  persons  in  whom  the  sinus  is  not  formed,  and  by  the 
negative  evidence;  that  is,  when  externally  part  of  the  skull  at  the 
top  of  the  nose  is  narrow,  contracted,  and  depressed,  the  portion 
of  brain  below  is  necessarily  small,  and  then  the  mental  power  is 
found  invariably  weak.  This  concomitance  of  large  size  and  great 
power  in  young  persons,  and  of  deficiency  of  size  and  feebleness 
of  power  in  all  ages,  proves  the  function;  although  in  some  indi- 
viduals there  is  an  external  elevation  caused  by  sinus,  and  not  by 
brain,  which  is  not  accompanied  with  the  corresponding  organ 
in  the  mental  faculty. 

Established. 

23. FORM. 

Dr.  Gall  was  struck  with  the  circumstance,  that  certain  persons 
and  animals  recognise,  with  the  greatest  facility,  individuals  whom 
they  have  not  seen  for  years,  and  even  then  only  in  passing.  In 
himself,  this  faculty  was  weak;  and  frequently,  on  rising  from  table, 
he  had  no  recollection  of  the  person  who  had  sat  next  to  him,  so 
as  to  be  able  to  recognise  him  again  in  society,  and  he  was,  in 
consequence,  exposed  to  many  painful  embarrassments  and  awk- 
ward mistakes.  Being  desired  to  examine  the  head  of  a  young 
girl  who  had  an  extreme  facility  of  distinguishing  and  recollecting 
persons,  he  found  her  eyes  pushed  laterally  outward,  and  a  certain 
squinting  look:  after  innumerable  additional  observations,  he  spoke 
of  an  organ  of  the  knowledge  of  persons. 

The  organs  lie  on  the  two  sides  of,  and  contiguous  to,  the  crista 
gain.  When  small,  the  orbitar  plate  approaches  close  to  the  sides 
of  the  crest,  and  then  the  external  width  across  the  nose  from  eye 
to  eye  is  small;  when  large,  there  is  a  considerable  space  betwixt 
the  orbitar  plate  and  the  crest,  and  a  great  external  breadth  across 
the  nose. 

In  some  instances  the  frontal  sinus  is  found  at  the  situation  of 
46 


362  FORM. 

this  organ;  but  it  very  rarely  leads  to  difficulty  in  observing  its 
size.  The  organ  was  large  in  King  George  III.,  and,  combined 
with  his  large  organ  of  Individuality,  it  gave  him  that  extraordinary 
talent  for  recollecting  persons  for  which  he  was  celebrated.  It 
is  very  moderately  developed  in  Curran,  and  by  referring  to  the 
figures  on  page  357,  it  will  be  observed  that  the  distance  between 
the  eyes  in  King  George  III.  at  23,  is  much  greater  than  in 
Curran. 

Dr.  Gall  observes,  that  those  individuals  who  never  bestow  more 
than  a  superficial  attention  on  phenomena,  and  who  have  always 
reasonings,  or  at  least  sophisms,  ready  in  explanation  of  every  fact, 
pretend  that  a  deficiency,  such  as  he  experienced  in  recognising 
persons,  is  owing  to  the  eyes;  that,  in  such  cases,  the  vision  is  in- 
distinct, or  there  is  a  squint.  His  personal  experience,  he  adds, 
affords  a  refutation  of  this  hypothesis ;  for  he  never  had  a  squint, 
and  his  vision  was  particularly  acute  and  clear.*     Often  children 


*Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that,  although  He  could  neither  paint  nor  design,  he  was 
able  to  seize  with  great  facility  the  numerous  forms  of  the  head  ;  which  statement 
is  at  variance  with  great  deficiency  in  the  organ  of  Form  ;  but  from  the  general 
tenor  of  his  observations,  it  appears  that  his  power  of  distinguishing  forms  was 
not  so  great  as  he  imagined  it  to  be.  Dr.  Spurzheim  gives  the  following  note  in 
his  reprint  of  the  article  Phrenology,  in  the  3d  Number  of  the  Foreign  Quarterly 
Review  : — "  The  phrenological  faculties  of  Dr.  Gall's  infantile  genius  were, Indi- 
viduality, Eventuality,  and  Causality  in  an  eminent  degree. 

"  It  has  been  remarked  as  singular,  that  Dr.  Gall  should  have  been  the  first 
founder  of  this  new  science,  whilst  he  could  not  recollect  persons  after  dinner, 
though  they  had  been  near  him  at  table,  and  since  he  could  not  find  his  way 
again  to  places,  where  he  had  been  before ;  or,  in  phrenological  terms,  since  he 
had  Form  and  Locality  very  small.  Those  who  make  that  remark,  can  neither 
know  the  proceeding  of  Dr.  Gall,  nor  understand  the  true  meaning  of  the  two 
phrenological  denominations.  Dr.  Gall  compared  the  size  of  individual  cerebral 
portions  with  certain  talents  or  characters  eminent  in  any  way ;  and  he  was  not 
deficient  in  the  power  of  perceiving  size  and  its  differences.  The  want  of  Locali- 
ty did  not  prevent  him  from  making  discoveries,  any  more  than  the  want  of 
seeing  certain  colors  hinders  any  one  to  cultivate  geometry  or  mathematics  in 
general.  Dr.  Gall's  deficiency  in  Form  explains  why  he  constantly  attached  him- 
self to  isolated  elevations  and  depressions  on  the  surface  of  the  head,  rather  than 
to  their  general  configuration,  and  left  this  rectification  of  Phrenology  to  my 
exertions ;  he,  nevertheless,  has  the  great  merit  of  having  discovered  first,  certain 
relations  between  cerebral  developement  and  mental  manifestations." 


FORM.  363 

from  three  to  five  years  of  age  have  a  great  memory  for  persons. 
Some  dogs,  at  the  distance  of  years,  recognise  an  individual  whom 
they  have  only  once  seen,  while  others,  after  a  few  days'  absence, 
do  not  know  again  persons  whom  they  have  seen  frequently.  Mon- 
keys, dogs,  horses,  elephants,  and  even  birds,  distinguish,  with 
greater  or  less  facility,  their  master,  or  those  who  have  been  kind 
or  cruel  to  them,  among  a  thousand.  All  the  animals  which  belong 
to  a  herd,  and  also  all  the  bees  in  a  hive,  from  20,000  to  80,000  in 
number,  know  each  other.  When  a  stranger  attempts  to  intro- 
duce himself,  they  drive  him  away,  or  kill  him.* 

Dr.  Spurzheim  has  analyzed  the  mental  power  connected  with 
the  organ  in  question,  and  considers  it  in  the  following  manner  : 
"  To  me,"  says  he,  "there  seems  to  exist  an  essential  and  funda- 
mental power,  which  takes  cognizance  of  configuration  generally, 
and  one  of  whose  peculiar  applications  or  offices  is  recollection  of 
persons  ;  for  persons  are  only  known  by  their  forms.  I  separate 
the  faculty  which  appreciates  configuration  from  that  of  Individ- 
uality, since  we  may  admit  the  existence  of  a  being  without  taking 
its  figure  into  consideration.  Individuality  may  be  excited  by 
every  one  of  the  external  senses,  by  smell  and  hearing,  as  well  as 
by  feeling  and  sight  ;  while  the  two  latter  senses  alone  assist  the 
faculty  of  configuration.  It  is  this  power  which  disposes  us  to 
give  a  figure  to  every  being  and  conception  of  our  minds  ;  that  of 
an  old  man,  to  God  ;  to  Death,  that  of  a  skeleton,  and  so  on. 
The  organ  of  configuration  is  situated  in  the  internal  angle  of  the 
orbit  ;  if  large,  it  pushes  the  eye-ball  towards  the  external  angle  a 
little  outwards  and  downwards.  It  varies  in  size  in  whole  nations. 
Many  of  the  Chinese  I  have  seen  in  London  had  it  much  devel- 
oped. It  is  commonly  large  in  the  French,  and  bestows  their  skill 
in  producing  certain  articles  of  industry.  Combined  with  Con- 
structiveness,  it  invents  the  patterns  of  dress-makers  and  milliners. 
It  leads  poets  to  describe  portraits  and  configurations,  and  induces 
those  who  make  collections  of  pictures  and  engravings  to  prefer 
portraits,  if  they  have  it  in  a  high  degree.  It  is  essential  to 
portrait-painters.  Crystallography  also  depends  on  it ;  and  to 
*  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau,  tome  v.  p.  1,  2,  &c.  ? 


364  FORM. 

me  it  appears  that  conceptions  of  smoothness  and  roughness  are 
acquired  by  its  means."*  I  have  met  with  numerous  facts,  in 
proof  of  this  faculty  and  organ.  Plirenological  Journal,  vol.  viii. 
p.  216,  a  case  is  recorded  of  a  literary  man  who  always  associated 
a  particular  form  with  a  particular  proper  name.  He  could  never 
think  of  my  name  without  calling  up  the  figure  of  an  urn. 

A  gentleman  of  this  city,  who  had  a  passion  for  mineralogy  from 
early  youth,  has  a  very  large  developement  of  this  organ,  as  also 
of  Comparison  ;  and  I  have  seen  many  children  who  were  expert 
at  cutting  figures  in  paper  possess  it  with  the  organs  of  Imitation 
and  Constructiveness  large.  A  gentleman  called  on  me  in  whom 
Constructiveness,  Locality,  and  other  organs  which  go  to  form  a 
talent  for  drawing  landscape  and  botanical  figures  are  large,  but  in 
whom  Form  is  deficient  ;  and  he  said,  he  could  not,  except  with 
great  difficulty  and  imperfection,  draw  or  copy  portraits. 

The  celebrated  Cuvier  owed  much  of  his  success  as  a  com- 
parative anatomist  to  this  organ.  De  Candolle  mentions  that  "His 
memory  was  particularly  remarkable  in  what  related  to  forms, 
considered  in  the  widest  sense  of  that  word ;  the  figure  of  an 
animal  seen  in  reality,  or  in  drawing,  never  left  his  mind,  and 
served  him  as  a  point  of  comparison  for  all  similar  objects."  This 
organ,  as  also  the  other  organs,  lying  along  the  supercihary  ridge 
were  large  in  his  head. 

In  the  casts  of  two  Chinese  skulls,  in  the  Phrenological  Society's 
Collection,  the  organ  is  greatly  developed ;  and,  in  a  collection  of 
portraits  of  eminent  painters,  presented  by  Sir  G.  S.  Mackenzie 
to  the  Society,  the  organ  appears  uncommonly  large  in  those  who 
excelled  in  portrait  painting. 

The  metaphysicians  do  not  admit  a  faculty  of  this  kind. 

Mr.  Jeffrey,  in  the  article  "Beauty,"  in  the  Supplement  to  the 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  agrees  with  another  author,  whom  he 
quotes,  Mr.  Knight,  in  maintaining,  that  "  There  are  no  forms  that 
have  any  intrinsic  beauty,  or  any  power  of  pleasing  or  affecting  us, 
except  through  their  associations,  or  affinities  to  mental  affections, 

*  Phrenology,  p.  311. 


SIZE.  365 

either  as  expressive  of  fitness  and  utility,  or  as  types  and  symbols 
of  certain  moral  or  intellectual  qualities,  in  which  the  sources  of 
our  interest  are  obvious."  From  these  observations  one  would 
suspect  Mr.  Jeffrey  and  Mr.  Knight  to  be  endowed  w^ith  small 
organs  of  Form  themselves,  and  that  they  have  taken  their  own 
experience  as  that  of  mankind  in  general.  The  notion  wliich  Mr. 
Jeffrey  has  erected  into  a  fundamental  principle,  and  on  which  his 
whole  essay  on  Beauty  is  built, — that  external  objects  possess  no 
qualities  of  their  own  fitted  to  please  the  mind,  but  that  all  their 
beauty  and  interest  arise  from  human  feelings  which  we  have 
associated  with  them,  is  contradicted  by  daily  experience.  The 
mineralogist,  when  he  talks  of  the  beauty  of  his  crystals,  has  a 
distinct  and  intelligible  feeling  to  which  the  name  of  Beauty  is 
legitimately  applied  ;  and  yet  he  connects  no  human  emotions  with 
the  pyramids,  and  rhombs,  and  oct^ons,  which  he  contemplates 
in  the  spars.  In  short,  I  have  met  with  persons  in  whom  this 
organ  is  large,  who  declare  that  they  enjoy  a  perceptible  pleasure 
from  the  contemplation  of  mere  form,  altogether  unconnected  with 
ideas  of  utility  and  fitness,  or  of  moral  or  intellectual  associations ; 
and  that  they  can  speak  as  intelligibly  of  elegant  and  inelegant, 
beautiful  and  ugly  shapes,  regarded  merely  as  shapes,  as  of  sweet 
and  bitter,'  hard  and  soft. 

Dr.  Gall  remarks,  that  some  authors  present  the  reader  with 
descriptions  of  the  persons  whom  they  introduce,  drawn  with  great 
minuteness  and  effect.  Montaigne,  for  example,  and  Sterne  are 
distinguished  for  this  practice,  and  in  the  portraits  of  both  the 
organ  of  Form  is  conspicuously  large. 

It  is  regarded  as  established. 

24.  —  SIZE. 

The  faculty  of  distinguishing  Form  differs  from  the  faculty  of 
Size;  because  there  is  an  essential  difference  between  the  idea  of 
size  and  that  of  form.  The  size  may  be  the  same,  and  the  form 
different.  One  of  these  kinds  of  knowledge  may  exist  without  the 
other;   and  there  is  no   proportion   between  them.     Besides,  as 


366  SIZE. 

formerly  mentioned,  the  nerves  of  touch,  and  the  organ  of  sight, 
do  not  form  ideas  of  any  kind  ;  so  that  the  power  of  conceiving 
size  cannot  be  in  proportion  to  the  endowment  of  them.  Dr. 
Spurzheim,  therefore,  inferred  by  reasoning,  that  there  would  be 
a  faculty,  the  function  of  which  is  to  perceive  Size  ;  and  obser- 
vation has  proved  the  soundness  of  this  conclusion,  for  the  situation 
assigned  by  him  to  the  organ  has  been  found  correct,  and  it  is 
regarded  as  probable.  In  dissecting  the  brain,  the  convolutions 
which  constitute  Size  and  Form  are  found  intimately  connected. 
The  organ  is  placed  at  the  internal  corner  of  the  arch  of  the  eye- 
brow, on  the  two  sides  of  Individuality. 

A  member  of  the  Phrenological  Society  called  on  Dr.  Spurzheim 
in  Paris,  and  the  latter  remarked  that  he  had  this  organ  largely 
developed.  This  proved  to  be  a  correct  indication  of  the  talent 
in  his  case  ;  for  he  possesses  the  power  of  discriminating  size  with 
great  nicety.  He  is  able  to  draw  a  circle  without  the  aid  of  any 
instrument,  and  to  point  out  the  centre  of  it  with  mathematical 
accuracy.  Being  in  the  army,  he  found  himself  able  to  make  his 
company  fall  from  column  into  Mne  with  great  exactness  ;  estimating 
correctly  by  the  eye  the  space  to  be  occupied  by  the  men,  which 
many  other  officers  could  never  learn  to  do.  Locality,  which  also 
he  largely  possessed,  would  aid  him  in  this  practice. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  this  faculty  is  connected  with  the 
power  of  perceiving  distance,  and  that  it  is  a  chief  element  in  a 
talent  for  perspective.  Mr.  Ferguson,  tutor  in  the  family  of  Sir 
G.  S.  Mackenzie,  stated,  that  he  had  a  difficulty  in  "  understanding 
a  landscape"  in  a  picture  ;  and  explained,  that  "  it  appeared  to  him 
to  present  a  group  of  objects  on  a  plain  surface,  without  any  per- 
ceptible fore  or  back  ground."  He  attributed  this  defect  in  his 
perceptions  to  his  not  having  been  taught  the  rules  of  perspective 
at  school.  In  the  course  of  farther  interrogation,  he  stated,  that 
he  sees  the  forms  of  objects  distinctly,  as  also  their  color  ;  that  he 
likes  brilliant  tints  best,  and  that  in  nature  he  perceives  distance 
also.  He  has  visited  Roslin  (in  the  neighborhood  of  Edinburgh), 
and  not  only  perceived  the  beauty  which  characterizes  that  deli- 
cious spot,  but  enjoyed  it  with  a  keen  relish.     He  has  also  seen 


SIZE.  367 

many  pieces  of  Highland  scenery,  and  been  delighted  with  them. 
Rivers,  meadows,  trees,  or  cultivated  ground,  are,  however,  the 
objects  which  interest  him  most.  On  turning  his  back  upon  any 
natural  landscape,  or  shutting  his  eyes  upon  it,  his  recollections 
instantly  become  very  confused.  He  is  not  able  to  recall  in  his 
mind  the  "  relative  positions"  of  the  objects  ;  while  he  distinctly 
recollects  the  pleasing  impressions  which  they  made  upon  him  ; 
this  remembrance  does  not  soon  fade.  His  recollection  of  Roslin, 
for  example,  is  like  that  of  a  confused  picture  of  rocks  and  trees, 
and  a  river  winding  through  them  ;  but  his  remembrance  of  the 
impressions  of  grandeur  and  beauty,  produced  by  the  objects,  is 
vivid  and  distinct. 

For  a  long  time  it  was  difficult  to  account  for  this  curious  defi- 
ciency of  mental  power.  Mr.  F.  permitted  a  cast  of  his  face  and 
forehead  to  be  taken  (which  is  sold  in  the  shops) ,  and  in  it  the 
organ  of  Size  appeared  to  be  decidedly  small,  and  Form  and 
Locality  not  very  fully  developed ;  while,  by  examining  his  head, 
it  appeared  that  Ideality,  Wonder,  Benevolence,,  with  the  organs 
of  the  other  sentiments,  and  also  of  the  intellectual  powers,  were 
nowise  deficient ;  but  to  which  of  the  three  organs  of  Size,  Form, 
or  Locality,  the  imperfection  fell  to  be  ascribed,  it  was  not  easy 
to  determine. 

Subsequently,  however,  Mr.  Douglas,  miniature  painter,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Phrenological  Society,  stated  in  conversation,  that  one 
of  the  earhest  indications  of  a  liking  for  painting  which  he  had 
experienced,  was  an  extraordinary  interest  in  matters  connected 
with  perspective.  When  a  mere  child,  the  appearance  of  approach 
in  the  far  end  of  ploughed  ridges  puzzled  him  exceedingly,  and-  he 
crawled  across  the  fields,  before  he  could  well  walk,  to  measure 
the  actual  distance  betwixt  each  ridge  with  a  stick,  and  was  lost  in 
astonishment  when  he  found  that  the  space  between  each  was  actu- 
ally the  same  at  both  ends,  notwithstanding  the  great  difference 
which  appeared  between  them  to  the  eye.  He  continued  from 
this  time  to  take  a  great  interest  in  perspective,  as  a  quality  in 
painting,  and  gave  up  landscape  for  miniature  painting,  not  from 
inclination,  but  from  motives  of  a  different  kind.     On  comparing 


368  WEIGHT. 

his  head  with  Mr.  Ferguson's,  the  organ  of  Size  was  found  to  differ 
more  than  any  of  the  others  ;  it  was  very  large. 

On  subsequently  examining  the  head  of  Mr.  P.  Gibson,  who 
was  known  greatly  to  excel  in  perspective,  I  again  found  the  organ 
of  Size  very  large.  And,  finally,  in  the  head  of  a  gentleman  with 
whom  I  am  intimately  acquainted,  this  organ  is  developed  rather 
below  than  above  an  average ;  and  he  stated  to  me,  that,  with  the 
power  of  perceiving  and  recollecting  distance  with  facility,  he  has 
nevertheless  felt  great  difficulty  in  representing  it  correcdy  on 
paper;  and,  while  he  understands  the  general  theory  of  perspective, 
he  could  never  learn  to  practise  it  by  tact  of  hand,  and,  on  this 
account,  gave  up  all  attempts  at  drawing.  In  the  last  edition,  I 
mentioned  the  case  of  a  lady  who,  having  Form  large  and  Size 
deficient,  copied  figures  accurately  in  regard  to  form,  but  inaccu- 
rately in  regard  to  size.  To  which  statement  Mr.  Jeffrey  objected 
that  size  is  necessary  to  proportion,  and  proportion  to  form ;  and 
that  there  was  inconsistency  in  the  account  of  the  lady's  talents. 
Mr.  Jeffrey  is  right :  she  informs  me  that  it  is  only  the  simplest 
forms  which  have  few  parts  that  she  is  able  to  copy  correctly,  and 
in  drawing  even  them  she  will  err  in  size;  but  that  when  a  figure  has 
detached  parts,  although  she  may  give  the  outline  of  each  part  by 
itself  with  considerable  accuracy,  it  will  be  larger  or  smaller  than 
the  original ;  whence  the  whole  figure  will  be  deficient  in  propor- 
tion. In  drawing  from  nature,  she  failed  in  perspective  ;  never- 
theless she  feels  great  pleasure  in  observing  forms,  recollects  them 
easily,  has  a  complete  mental  consciousness  of  the  powers  of  Form 
and  Size  being  different,  and  of  the  one  being  strong  and  the  other 
weak  in  her  mind. 

The  frontal  sinus  throws  a  difficulty  in  the  way  of  observing 
this  organ;  and  the  negative  evidence  is,  therefore,  chiefly  relied  on. 

It  is  stated  as  only  probable. 

25. WEIGHT. 

There  seems  to  be  no  analogy  between  the  weight  or  resistance 
of  bodies,  and  their  other  qualities.     They  may  be  of  all  forms. 


WEIGHT.  369 

sizes,  and  colors,  liquid  or  solid,  and  j'et  none  of  these  features 
would  necessarily  imply  that  one  was  heavier  than  the  other.  This 
quality,  therefore,  being  distinct  from  all  others,  we  cannot  logically 
refer  the  cognisance  of  it  to  any  of  the  faculties  of  the  mind  which 
judge  of  the  other  attributes  of  matter  ;  and,  as  the  mental  power 
undoubtedly  exists,  there  appears  reason  to  conjecture  that  it  may 
be  manifested  by  means  of  a  special  organ.  Persons  who  excel 
at  archery  and  quoits,  also  those  who  find  great  facility  in  judging 
of  momentum  and  resistance  in  mechanics,  are  observed  to  possess 
the  parts  of  the  brain  lying  nearest  to  the  organ  of  Size  largely 
developed  ;  and  the  organ  is  now  regarded  as  probable.  Statics, 
or  that  branch  of  mathematics  which  considers  the  motion  of  bodies 
arising  from  gravity,  probably  belongs  to  it.  Persons  in  whom 
Individuality,  Size,  Weight,  and  LocaUty,  are  large,  have  generally 
a  talent  for  engineering,  and  those  branches  of  mechanics  which 
consist  in  the  application  of  forces  ;  they  delight  in  steam-engines, 
water-wheels,  and  turning-lathes.  The  same  combination  occurs 
in  persons  distinguished  for  successful  execution  of  difficult  feats 
in  skating ;  in  which  the  regulation  of  equilibrium  is  an  important 
element.  Constructiveness,  when  Weight  is  small,  leads  to  rear- 
ing still  fabrics,  rather  than  to  fabricating  working  machinery. 

Mr.  Simpson  published  in  the  Phrenological  Journal  (vol.  ii.  p. 
410.)  an  interesting  and  ingenious  Essay  on  this  organ,  in  vi'hich 
he  enumerates  a  great  number  of  examples,  in  proof  of  its  func- 
tions. It  is  large,  says  he,  in  Dr.  Chalmers,  Dr.  Brewster,  Sir 
James  Hall,  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  Professor  Leslie,  and  in  Mr. 
Jardine  and  Mr.  Stevenson,  two  eminent  engineers.  "We  have 
lately  seen,"  he  continues,  "Professor  Parish  of  Cambridge,  who 
manifests  a  high  endowment  of  mechanical  skill,  and  has  the  organ 
large ;  as  has  Mr.  Whewell  of  the  same  University,  who  has  writ- 
ten a  work  of  merit  on  the  same  subject.  In  a  visit  we  lately 
made  to  Cambridge,  we  saw  much  that  was  interesting  in  regard  to 
this  organ.  Professor  Parish's  son  inherits  the  mechanical  turn 
and  the  organ.  We  saw  both  the  statue  and  bust  of  Sir  Isaac 
Newton,  by  Rubilliac.  The  bust  was  a  likeness  taken  in  the 
prime  of  his  years,  and  in  it  the  knowing  organs  are  still  more 
47 


370  WEIGHT. 

prominent  than  in  the  statue.  Weight  is  very  pre-eminent.  The 
same  organ  is  very  large  in  the  bust  of  the  lamented  Dr.  Clarke, 
the  traveller  ;  and,  as  might  have  been  expected,  Locality  quite 
extraordinarily  developed.*  We  met  with  several  persons  with 
small  Weight,  who  at  once  acknowledged  deficiency  in  mechanical 
talent,  and  awkwardness  in  their  actions  and  movements.  A  child 
of  two  years  old  was  mentioned  to  us,  although  we  did  not  see  it, 
quite  remarkable  to  every  one  for  the  large  developement  of  brain 
at  this  part  of  the  frontal  bone,  and  for  the  uncommon  steadiness 
of  its  walk,  at  an  age  when' other  children  totter,  and  it  is  the, theme 
of  wonder  to  all  who  know  it."  The  organ  is  large  in  the  mask 
of  Maclauchlan,  a  weaver  of  Saltcoats,  wlio  spent  much  time  and 
money  in  devising  means  to  regulate  the  stroke  of  the  common 
pump,  so  as  to  make  the  working-rod  move  with  the  same  momen- 
tum up  and  down.  It  is  large  also  in  the  mask  of  Brunei,  the 
celebrated  engineer  and  mechanician.  In  examining  masks,  a 
depression  of  muscle,  which  sometimes  takes  place  at  this  part, 
must  not  be  mistaken  for  a  fulness  of  the  organ. 

Mr.  Simpson  proceeds  :  "  The  faculty  now  under  considera- 
tion, in  high  endowment,  manifests  itself  in  engineering,  in  dynam- 
ical skill,  in  the  knowledge  and  application  of  mechanical  forces. 
What  may  be  its  lesser  endowments.''  Where  do  we  find  the 
organ.-*  Situated  in  the  midst  of  that  group,  which  gives  us  the 
perception  of  the  qualities  of  material  objects;  namely,  Form,  Size, 
Locality,  Coloring,  Order,  and  Number.  It  is  evident  there  is  a 
quality  of  bodies  most  essential  to  their  nature,  not  included  in 


*  In  the  numerous  living  heads  we  saw  at  Cambridge,  we  met  often  with  the 
organ  of  Number  large,  and  found,  invariably,  that  it  was  accompanied  in  the 
individual  with  algebraic  celebrity.  The  organization  generally  corresponded  to 
the  cause  of  the  person's  rank  in  the  University ;  and,  although  there  were  ex- 
ceptions, most  of  the  persons  who  have  achieved  honors,  evidently  owe  them  to 
the  great  power  of  their  knowing  organs ; — clearly  showing,  that  those  who  were 
also  gifted  with  deeply  reflecting  and  combining  powers,  are  not  called  to  use 
them  either  in  classical  or  mathematical  studies.  Many  men,  on  the  contrary, 
have  figured  in  public  life,  in  virtue  of  their  great  endowment  of  Causality  and 
Comparison,  who,  from  a  smaller  gift  of  the  knowing  organs,  have  held  a  very 
humble  grade  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge. 


WEIGHT.  371 

these  qualities,  singly  or  combined  ;  namely,  their  density  and  cor- 
responding weight.  As  bodies  gravitate  in  a  well-known  ratio  to 
their  density,  and  their  density  and  weight  are  the  same  thing, 
Weight  is  only  one  name  for  gravitation.  Does  it  then  serve  any 
important  purpose  in  our  being,  or  is  it  essential  to  our  animal 
existence,  that  we  should  have  an  instinctive  perception  of  gravi- 
tation, operating  constantly  and  independently  of  reason  .''  That 
state  of  rest  which  the  law  of  gravitation  constitutes  .the  natural 
state  of  all  bodies,  soHd,  fluid,  and  aeriform,  is  called  their  Equili- 
brium. The  simplest  animal  motions,  what  are  they  but  alternate 
disturbance  and  restoration  of  equilibrium'?  " — "  The  land-animal 
walks  and  runs,  and  avails  itself  of  the  resistance  of  the  earth, — the 
bird  flies  by  its  instinctive  perception  of  the  resistance  of  the  air, 
— the  fish  uses  its  fins  and  tail,  instinctively  perceiving  the  resist- 
ance of  the  water." 

"  Some  degree,  therefore,  of  the  power  of  adapting  motions  to 
the  law  of  gravitation,  some  power  over  equilibrium,  must  be  pos- 
sessed by  the  whole  animated  creation, — for  without  it,  it  is  plain, 
they  must  perish.  May  the  organ  of  Weight  be  the  organ  of  this 
faculty.''  To  man  alone  is  given  the  capacity  to  aid  this  power, 
and  render  his  motion  more  effectual,  and  force  more  avaihng 
by  the  use  of  instruments, — and  Franklin  well  named  him  a  tool- 
making,  or  rather  a  togl-using  animal.  What  are  his  tools.''  They 
are  all  modifications  of  the  elementary  mechanical  powers.  His 
club  and  bow  are  levers, — his  axe,  knife,  sword,  and  arrow,  are 
wedges.  He  instinctively  aids  his  own  muscular  force  by  the 
lever,  when  he  applies  a  bar  of  wood  to  raise  a  stone  from  the 
ground  ; — if  he  wishes  to  raise  that  stone  to  a  certain  height, 
perpendicularly,  he  will  instinctively  counteract  its  gravitation  by 
forcing  it  up  an  inclined  plane,  instead  of  applying  his  own  bodily 
force  -to  lift  it  perpendicularly.  The  principle  of  the  pulley  will 
suggest  itself  whenever  he  has  obtained  a  block  with  a  cord,  or 
thong,  to  draw  water  out  of  a  pit.  The  screw  is  only  the  inclined 
plane  wrapped  spirally  round  a  cylinder ;  to  avail  himself  of  which ' 
he  would  be  led,  whenever  he  attempted,  as  he  early  did,  to  build 
a  tower." 


372  WEIGHT. 

These  views,  says  Mr.  Simpson,  are  strongly  supported  by 
diseased  affections  of  this  part  of  the  brain.  Miss  S.  L.  was 
attacked  with  headache,  and  pain  in  the  region  of  the  organ  of 
Weight,  "her  perception  of  equilibrium  was  deranged,  and  she 
experienced  giddiness,  inclined  position  of  horizontal  floors  and 
ceilings,  and  the  sensation  of  being  lifted  up,  and  of  again  falling 
down  and  forward.  Her  account  of  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  for 
she  said  she  felt  as  if  she  had  been  tipsy."  Mr.  Simpson  refers 
to  a  diseased  condition  of  this,  and  some  other  of  the  knowing 
organs,  a  curious  mental  affection,  which  Mr.  John  Hunter,  the 
celebrated  anatomist,  experienced  in  1776,  and  which  is  recorded 
in  his  life,  written  by  Sir  Everard  Home.  "From  great  anxiety 
of  mind,"  says  he,  "Mr.  H.  had  a 'severe  illness.  It  attacked 
him  on  a  journey,  and  his  first  sensation,  it  is  well  worthy  of 
remark,  was  that  of  having  drunk  too  much^  although  he  had 
taken  nothing  but  a  Htde  weak  punch.  On  going  to  bed,  he  felt 
as  if  suspended  in  the  air,  and  soon  after  the  room  seemed  to  go 
round  with  very  great  rapidity.  This  ceased,  but  the  strange 
sensation,  like  Miss  S.  L.'s,  of  being  lifted  up,  continued;  and, 
on  being  brought  home  in  his  carriage,  his  sensation  was  that  of 
sinking  or  going  doion.  The  symptoms  of  whirling  and  suspen- 
sion increased  ;  and  his  own  head,  when  he  raised  it  from  his 
pillow,  seemed  to  move  from  him  to  some  distance  with  great 
velocity.  When  he  became  able  to  stand  widiout  being  giddy,  he 
was  unable  to  walk  without  support;  "for,"  says  Sir  E.  Home, 
"/lis  oicn  feelings  did  not  give  him  information  respecting  his 
centre  of  gravity,  so  that  he  was  unable  to  balance  his  body,  and 
prevent  himself  from  falling."  We  need  not  add,  continues  Mr. 
Simpson,  the  obvious  comment,  that  the  organ  of  Weight  was 
diseased,  and  the  very  function  we  have  imputed  to  it,  the  instinct 
of  equilibrium  (expressed  almost  in  our  own  words  by  Sir  E. 
Home,)  unequivocally  impeded.* 

The  phenomena  of  intoxication  are  explained  by  Mr.  Simpson 
in  a  similar  way.  "Both  Miss  8.  L.  and  Mr.  John  Hunter," 
says  he,  "  bore  testimony  to  the  illusive  feeling  of  being  intoxi- 
*  Phrenological  Journal,  vol.  ii.  p.  302. 


WEIGHT.  ,  373 

cated,  while  Miss  S.  L.  had  acute  pain  in  the  organ  of  the  instinct 
or  power  of  preserving  the  balance,  and  maintaining  an  upright 
posture.  But  for  azi  innate,  steady,  and  never-failing  perception 
of  equilibrium,  animal  movements  would  be  only  staggering  and 
tumbling.  The  intoxicated  soon  lose  a  steady  gait,  fall  down, 
see  perpendiculars  at  other  angles,  believe  the  floor  itself  perpen- 
dicular, and  grasp  the  ground  to  save  themselves  from  falling  off 
its  surface  ;  they  feel  lifted  up,  sinking  down,  and  whirling  round. 
Sickness  would  follow  these  sensations,  independent  of  the  stimu- 
lus of  the  liquor  to  the  stomach ;  and  it  is  extremely  probable  that 
sea-sickness  results  from  the  inverted  feelings  occasioned  by  motion 
which  violates  our  habitual  perception  of  equilibrium.  "* 

A  correspondent  of  the  Phrenological  Journal  mentions,!  that 
he  was  struck  with  this  remark  about  sea-sickness  arising  from  the 
disturbance  of  equilibrium,  and  found  by  experience  when  at  sea, 
that,  by  standing  at  the  vessel's  side,  directing  his  eyes  to  an  ob- 
ject on  shore  perfectly  still,  the  top  of  a  mountain  for  example, 
and  shutting  out  with  the  palms  of  his  hands  all  sight  of  the  ship 
and  the  sea,  sickness  invariably  left  him,  but  always  returned  when- 
ever he  withdrew  his  hands,  and  allowed  any  part  of  the  vessel  to 
catch  his  eye. 

Sir  G.  S.  Mackenzie  has  suggested  the  name  "  Resistance," 
as  more  appropriate  for  this  faculty  than  that  of  Weight.  "  We 
cannot  judge,"  says  he,  "of  Weight,  as  we  do  of  Form,  without 
repeated  experience.  We  may  see  before  us  two  balls  of  the 
same  size  and  color.  We  take  up  one  of  them,  and  perceive  that 
it  requires  a  certain  exertion  or  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  mus- 
cles of  the  arm  and  hand  to  support  it.  From  this,  however,. we 
cannot  determine  that  the  other  ball  will  produce  the  same  effect, 
for  it  may  be  hollow.  Now,  although  we  have  obtained  the  ex- 
perience that  two  similar  balls  may  not  produce  the  same  effect ; 
this  experience  is  of  no  use  to  us,  for  we  must  always  make  the 
experiment  of  lifting  both,  in  order  to. determine  which  is  the 
heavier.  The  impression  of  Resistance  is,  however,  left  with  us  ; 
and  probably  it  is  the  function  of  the  faculty  which  Dr.  Spurzheim 
*  Phrenological  Journal,  vol.  ii.  p.  428.  t  No.  viii.  p.  645 


374  COLORING. 

calls  that  of  Weight,  to  give  us  conceptions  of  resistance  in  gene- 
ral."* Mr.  Simpson,  I  believe,  is  now  disposed  to  admit  the 
correctness  of  this  analysis. 

.       26. COLORING. 

Although  the  eyes  are  affected  agreeably  or  disagreeably  by 
different  modifications  of  the  beams  of  light  or  by  colors,  yet  they 
do  not  conceive  the  relations  of  different  colors,  their  harmony  or 
discord,  and  they  have  no  memory  of  them.  Certain  individuals 
are  almost  destitute  of  the  power  of  perceiving  colors,  who  yet 
have  the  sense  of  vision  acute,  and  readily  perceive  other  qualities 
in  external  bodies,  as  their  size  and  form.  This  fact  has  been 
remarked  by  Mr.  Stewart.  He  says,  "  In  the  power  of  conceiv- 
ing colors,  too,  there  are  striking  differences  among  individuals  : 
and  indeed  I  am  inclined  to  suspect,  that,  in  the  greater  number 
of  instances,  the  supposed  defects  of  sight  in  this  respect,  ought  to 
be  ascribed  rather  to  a  defect  in  the  power  of  conception.  One 
thing  is  certain,  that  we  often  see  men  who  are  perfectly  sensible 
of  the  difference  between  two  colors  when  they  are  presented  to 
them,  who  cannot  give  names  to  these  colors  with  confidence, 
when  they  see  them  apart ;  and  are,  perhaps,  apt  to  confound  the 
one  with  the  other.  Such  men,  it  should  seem,  feel  the  sensation 
of  color  like  other  men,  when  the  object  is  present ;  but  are  inca- 
pable (probably  in  consequence  of  some  early  habit  of  inattention^) 
to  conceive  the  sensation  distinctly,  when  the  object  is  removed,  "f 

In  this  quotation,  we  have  a  specimen  of  the  usual  mode  of  con- 
ducting metaphysical  speculations.  When  the  most  curious  and 
striking  phenomena  of  the  mind  are  mentioned,  and  when  we  look 
anxiously  for  an  explanation  of  them,  habit  or  association  is  drag- 
ged in  to  solve  the  difficulty ;  and  this  often  merely  ih  a  paren- 
thesis, as  if  no  difficulty  existed. 

Observation  enables  us  to  prove,  that  individuals  who  have  the 
part  of  the  brain  marked  No.  26.  largely  developed,  possess  in 
a  high  degree  the  power  of  discriminating  colors,  and,  on  this 
"Illustrations  of  Phrenology,  p.  160.  I  Elements,  ch.  iii 


COLORING.  375 

account,  the  phrenologist  admits  this  as  a  fundamental  faculty  of 
the  mind. 

Mr.  Jeffrey  objected  to  this  doctrine,  that  light  is  always  colored, 
indeed  nothing  else  but  color ;  and  that  it  is  impossible  for  any  one 
to  see  acutely  who  cannot  distinguish  colors  with  equal  success, 
because  all  visible  objects  must  necessarily  be  distinguished  by 
color  alone.  The  answer  is,  that  the  eye  receives  the  external 
impression  of  light,  and  transmits  it  to  the  organ  of  Coloring,  just 
as  the  ears  transmit  sound  to  the  organ  of  Tune  ;  and  both  are 
requisite  to  the  perception  of  color.  If  the  eye  be  perfect,  and 
the  organ  of  Color  deficient,  the  individual  may  be  capable  of  dis- 
tinguishing degrees  of  intensity  of  light,  although  he  cannot  discrim- 
inate differences  of  tint ;  and  the  former  is  sufficient  to  acute  vision, 
as  is  proved  by  engraving  and  black  chalk  drawing ;  in  which  form 
distance  and  expression  are  successfully  represented  by  mere  dif- 
ferences of  light  and  shade,  or  by  different  degrees  of  light  inde- 
pendently of  color. 

The  faculty,  when  powerful,  gives  a  delight  in  contemplating 
colors,  and  a  vivid  feeling  of  their  harmony  and  discord.  Those 
in  whom  the  organ  is  deficient  experience  little  interest  in  coloring, 
and  are  almost  insensible  to  difference  of  hues.  In  the  Phren- 
ological Transactions,  Dr.  Butter  reports  the  case  of  Mr.  Robert 
Tucker,  whose  eye-sight  was  not  deficient,  and  who  was  able 
neither  to  distinguish  nor  to  recollect  many  of  the  primitive  colors, 
even  when  shown  to  him.  "  Orange,  he  calls  green,  and  green 
colors  orange  ;  red,  he  considers  as  brown,  and  brown  as  red ; 
blue  silk  looks  to  him  like  pink,  and  pink  of  alight  blue  color; 
indigo  is  described  as  purple."*  The  organ  is  reported  to  be 
decidedly  deficient  in  this  gentleman's  head.  The  case  of  Mr. 
James  Milne,  brass-founder  in  Edinburgh,  is  also  peculiarly  illus- 
trative of  this  faculty ;  and,  as  I  obtained  the  facts  from  himself, 
they  may  be  implicitly  relied  on. 

Mr.  Milne's  grandfather,  on  the  mother's  side,  had  a  deficiency 
in  the  power  of  perceiving  colors,  but  could  distinguish  forms  and 
distance  easily.  On  one  occasion,  this  gentleman  was  desirous 
*  Page  210. 


376  COLORING. 

that  his  wife  should  purchase  a  beautiful  green  gown.  She  brought 
several  patterns  to  him,  but  could  never  find  one  which  came  up 
to  his  views  of  the  color  in  question.  One  day  he  observed  a 
lady  passing  on  the  street,  and  pointed  out  her  gown  to  his  wife, 
as  the  color  that  he  wished  her  to  get ;  when  she  expressed  her 
astonishment,  and  assured  him,  that  the  color  was  a  mixed  brown, 
which  he  had  all  along  mistaken  for  a  green.  It  was  not  known 
till  then  that  he  was  deficient  in  the  power  of  perceiving  colors. 

Neither  Mr.  Milne's  father,  mother,  nor  uncle,  on  the  mother's 
side,  were  deficient  in  this  respect ;  so  that  the  imperfection  passed 
over  one  generation.  In  himself  and  his  two  brothers,  however,  it 
appeared  in  a  decided  manner;  while  in  his  sisters,  four  in  number, 
no  trace  of  it  is  to  be  found ;  as  they  distinguish  colors  easily. 
Mr.  Spankie,  a  cousin  once  removed,  has  a  similar  defect.* 

Mr.  Milne  is  rather  near-sighted,  but  never  could  find  glasses  to 
aid  his  defect.  He  rather  excels  in  distinguishing  forms  and  pro- 
portions ;  and,  although  he  cannot  discover  game  upon  the  ground, 
from  the  faintness  of  his  perception  of  colors,  yet  he  is  fond  of 
shooting ;  and,  when  a  boy,  was  rather  an  expert  marksman,  when 
the  birds  were  fairly  visible  to  him  in  the  air.  He  sees  them, 
however,  only  in  the  sky-light ;  and,  on  one  occasion,  when  a  large 
covey  of  partridges  rose  within  ten  or  twelve  yards  of  him,  the 
back  ground  being  a  field  of  Swedish  turnips,  he  could  not  perceive 
a  single  bird.  His  eye  is  decidedly  convex  to  a  considerable 
degree. 

Mr.  Milne's  defect  was  discovered  in  rather  a  curious  manner. 
He  was  bound  apprentice  to  a  draper,  and  continued  in  his  service 
for  three  years  and  a  half.  During  two  years,  he  fell  into  consid- 
erable mistakes  about  colors,  but  this  was  attributed  to  inexperience 
and  ignorance  of  the  names  of  the  tints.  At  length,  however,  when 
he  was  selling  a  piece  of  olive  corduroy  for  breeches,  the  purchaser 

*  I  have  examined  the  heads  of  M'r.  Milne's  brothers,  who  are  deficient  in  the 
power,  and  in  them  the  organ  is  evidently  little  developed.  I  have  also  examined 
its  developeraent  in  one  of  his  sisteri?,  and  found  no  deficiency,  but  rather  a  ful- 
ness in  the  organ.  Mr.  Lyon,  a  member  of  the  Society,  states,  that  he  has  exam- 
ined the  head  of  Mr.  Spankie,  and  found  the  organ  rather  deficient. 


COLORING.  377 

requested  strings  to  tie  them  with ;  and  Mr.  Milne  was  proceeding 
to  cut  off  what  he  considered  as  the  best  match,  when  the  person 
stopped  him,  and  requested  strings  of  the  same  color  as  the  cloth 
Mr.  Milne  begged  him  to  point  out  a  color  to  please  himself;  and 
he  selected,  of  course,  a  green  string.  When  he  was  gone,  Mr. 
Milne  was  so  confident  that  he  himself  was  right,  and  the  purchaser 
wrong,  in  the  color  that  he  had  chosen,  that  he  cut  off  a  piece  of 
the  string  which  he  intended  to  give,  and  a  piece  of  that  which  had 
been  selected,  and  carried  both  home,  with  a  piece  of  the  cloth 
also,  and  showed  them  to  his  mother.  She  then  told  him  that  his 
riband  was  a  bright  scarlet-)  and  the  other  a  grass-green.  His 
masters  would  not  believe  in  any  natural  defect  in  his  power  of 
perceiving  colors  ;  and  it  was  only  after  many  mistakes,  and  some 
vituperation,  that  he  was  permitted  to  renounce  the  business,  and 
to  betake  himself  to  another,  that  of  a  brass-founder,  to  which  he 
had  a  natural  disposition  ;  for  he  had  used  the  turning-loom  in  con- 
structing playthings,  when  a  mere  boy. 

As  to  the  different  colors,  he  knows  blues  and  yellows,  certainly; 
but  he  cannot  distinguish  browns,  greens  and  reds.  A  brown  and 
green  he  cannot  discriminate  or  name  when  apart  ;  but  when 
together,  he  sees  a  difference  between  them.  Blue  and  pink, 
when  about  the  same  shade,  and  seen  in  daylight,  appear  to  him 
to  be  of  the  color  of  the  sky,  which  he  calls  blue  ;  but  seen  in 
candle-light,  the  pink  appears  like  a  dirty  buff,  and  the  blue  retains 
the  appearance  which  it  had  in  daylight.  The  grass  appears  to 
him  more  hke  an  orange,  than  any  other  colored  object  with  which 
he  is  acquainted.  Indigo,  violet  and  purple,  appear  only  different 
shades  of  one  color,  darker  or  lighter,  but  not  differing  in  their' 
bases.  He  never  mistakes  black  and  white  objects  ;  he  distin- 
guishes easily  between  a  black  and  a  blue,  and  is  able  even  to  tell 
whether  a  black  be  a  good  or  a  bad  one.  In  the  rainbow  he  per- 
ceives only  the  yellow  and  the  blue  distinctly.  He  sees  that  there 
are  other  tints  in  it,  but  what  they  are  he  cannot  distinguish,  and 
he  is  q'uite  unable  to  name  them.  In  daylight,  crimson  appears 
like  blue  or  purple,  but  in  candle-light  it  seems  a  bright  red. 

When  in  Glasgow,  his  greatcoat  was  carried  off  from  the  travel- 
48 


378  COLORING. 

lers'  room  by  mistake,  and  on  inquiring  at  the  waiter  what  had 
become  of  it,  the  question  was  naturally  put,  what  was  the  color 
of  the  coat?  ,  Mr.  Milne  was  quite  puzzled  by  the  interrogatory; 
and  although  he  had  worn  it  for  a  year,  he  could  only  reply,  that 
it  was  either  snufF-brown  or  olive-green,  but  which  he  could  not 
tell.  The  waiter  looked  as  if  he  suspected  that  Mr.  Milne  wanted 
to  get  a  coat  instead  of  wishing  to  recover  one  ;  but  the  coat  was 
found,  although  even  yet  Mr.  Milne  is  not  able  to  tell  the  color. 
He  is  apt  to  mistake  copper  for  brass,  unless  he  distinguish  them 
by  the  file. 

A  mask  of  Mr.  Milne  is  sold  in  the  shops,  and  in  it  the  organs 
of  Form,  Size,  and  Constructiveness*  are  well  developed,  while 
that  of  Coloring  is  decidedly  deficient ;  there  being  a  depression  in 
the  part  corresponding  to  this  organ,  into  which  the  point  of  the 
finger  falls  on  passing  it  along.  As  a  contrast,  the  reader  may 
compare  with  it  the  masks  of  Mr.  David  Wilkie,  Mr.  Haydon, 
Mr.  Douglas,  or  Mr.  Williams,  all  eminent  painters  ;  and  as  the 
organ  is  large  in  these  masks,  a  very  marked  difference  will  be 
perceptible. 

Cases  of  this  description  are  not  rare.  In  the  mask  of  Mr. 
Sloane  of  Leith,  the  developement  is  small,  and  in  a  letter,  dated 
20th  February,  1822,  addressed  to  me,  this  gendeman  says, 
,"When  I  see  a  piece  of  tartan,  or  any  other  complication  of 
Colors,  I  can  easily  distinguish  the  difference  of  shades ;  but  were 
the  different  Colors  presented  to  me  singly,  I  could  not  say  which 
was  which.  I  feel  particularly  at  a  loss  to  distinguish  betwixt  green 
and  brown,  and  likewise  betwixt  some  shades  of  red  and  blue.  I 
am  not  sensible  of  being  deficient  in  seeing  any  thing  at  a  distance, 
or  of  being  unable  to  perceive  as  small  a  particle  as  the  generality 
of  men  can  do."  In  this  mask,  the  deficiency  is  not  so  great  as 
in  that  of  Mr.  Milne,  but  the  organ  of  Coloring  is  greatly  less 
developed  in  it  than  in  the  masks  of  the  painters  before  alluded  to. 

There  are  instances  of  individuals  who  involuntarily  associate 
particular  colors  with  particular  names,  even  although  .they  have 

*  This  is  an  example  of  the  organ  of  Constructiveness  heing  situated  higher 
than  usual,  as  noticed  on  p.  204. 


,      COLORING.  379 

nev^er  seen  the  persons  named;  thus  all  Johnsons  will  be  blue,  and 
all  Thomsons  black,  and  so  with  other  names  and  colors.  —  There 
appears  to  be  an  association  in  activity  between  the  organs  of 
Coloring  and  Language  in  such  individuals,  so  that  the  one  cannot 
act  without  exerting  the  other,  as  some  men  cannot  bend  one  finger 
without  bending  also  the  one  next  it.  This  however  is  only  a 
conjecture.  See  cases  of  Coloring  attached  to  words,  things  and 
persons,  Vol.  iii.  p.  420.  of  the  Phrenological  Journal,  also  Vol. 
viii.  p.  70.  and  216. 

The  proper  way  to  observe  the  developement  of  this  organ,  is 
to  distinguish  to  what  extent  the  centre  of  each  eyebrow  projects 
forward.  In  Mr.  Milne  it  is  slightly  depressed  below  the  neigh- 
boring parts  ;  in  Mr.  Sloane,  it  is  scarcely  depressed,  but  it  does 
not  project,  so  as  to  overhang  the  eye-ball ;  in  the  painters  it  is 
large  and  prominent,  forming  a  heavy  shade  above  the  eye.  Dr. 
Spurzheim  mentions  that  a  large  developement  of  it  is  indicated  by 
an  arched  appearance  in  the  middle  of  the  eyebrow,  and  that  this 
sign  is  found  in  the  portraits  of  Rubens,  Titian,  Rembrandt,  Salva- 
tor  Rosa,  Claude  Lorraine,  &c.;  but  its  large  size  is  also  indicated 
by  the  projection  forward  of  this  part  of  the  eyebrow  without  arch- 
ing. It  presents  this  appearance  in  the  masks  of  the  late  Sir 
Henry  Raeburn,  Wilkie,  Haydon,  and  other  eminent  painters. 

Dr.  Gall  states  it  as  an  indubitable  fact,  that  determinate  laws 
of  proportion  in  colors  exist.  The  three  primitive  colors  of  blue, 
yellow,  and  red,  says  he,  do  not  harmonize.  If  we  mix  two  of 
these,  an  intermediate  color  is  produced  ;  Blue  and  yellow  give 
green;  blue  and  red,  violet;  red  and  yellow,  orange.  To  obtain  a 
harmonious  combination,  we  must  place  alongside  of  a  primitive 
color  a  mixed  one,  into  which  the  primitive  enters  as  an  element; 
the  mixed  color  will  always  be  in  harmony  with  the  two  primitive 
colors  from  v^hich  it  is  produced.  If  we  place,  says  he,  a  silk 
riband,  of  a  blue  color,  and  about  an  inch  broad,  on  a  sheet  of 
white  paper,  and  look  at  it  steadfastly  ;  at  the  end  of  a  short  time, 
we  shall  see  besides,  yellow  and  red,  and  (at  the  side)  orange, 
resulting  from  their  mixture.* 

*  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau,  tome  v.  p.  82. 


380  COLORING. 

Mr.  Jeffrey,  in  the  article  "  Beauty,"  already  alluded  to, 
informs  us,  "  That  color  is,  in  all  cases,  absolutely  indifferent  to 
the  eye;"  and  adds,  "  that  it  is  no  doubt  quite  true,  that  among 
painters  and  connoisseurs,  we  hear  a  great  deal  about  the  harmony 
and  composition  of  tints,  and  the  charms  and  difficulties  of  a  judi- 
cious coloring.  In  all  this,  however,  we  cannot  help  thinking  that 
there  is  no  little  pedantry  and  no  little  jargon.''^  Speaking  of  the 
natural  gamut  of  colors,  he  continues,  "  We  confess  we  have  no 
faith  in  any  of  these  fancies  ;  and  believe,  that  if  all  these  colors 
were  fairly  arranged,  on  a  plain  board,  according  to  the  most  rigid 
rules  of  this  supposed  harmony,  nobody,  but  the  author  of  the 
theory,  would  perceive  the  smallest  Beauty  in  the  exhibition,  or 
be  the  least  offended  by  reversing  their  collocation."  It  is  a  curi- 
ous fact,  that  the  organ  of  Coloring  in  Mr.  Jeffrey's  head  is  actually 
depressed  ;  and  it  appears  that,  in  the  usual  manner  of  metaphysical 
writers,  he  has  conceived  his  own  feelings  to  be  an  infallible  stand- 
ard of  those  of  human  nature  in  general.  It  is  quite  true  that  the 
eye  is  affected  only  by  the  degrees  of  light,  but  by  this  expression, 
the  mind  is  here  obviously  meant.  The  author,  when  speaking  in 
the  next  sentence  of  the  gamut,  draws  no  distinction  between  the 
powers  of  the  mind  and  those  of  the  eye.  Those  individuals,  then, 
whose  cases  I  have  cited,  and  who  cannot  distinguish  dark  brown 
from  scarlet,  buff  from  orange,  or  violet  from  pink,  would  probably 
subscribe  to  Mr.  Jeffrey's  positions.  But  other  individuals,  such 
as  Wilkie  and  Hay  don,  have  an  intense  sensibility  to  shades  of 
every  hue,  and  of  every  degree  ;  and  some  painters  have  assured 
me,  that  they  experience  a  very  decided  emotion  in  contemplating 
colors,  independent  of  every  association  ;  and  declare,  that  they 
perceive  harmony,  congruity  and  incongruity,  in  their  arrangements, 
even  on  a  plain  board,  as  certainly  and  as  distinctly  as  they  distin- 
guish harmony  and  discord  in  sound. 

Mr.  Jeffrey,  in  his  review  of  the  System  of  Phrenology,  in  the 
Edinburgh , Review,  No.  8S,  controverts  these  inferences.  He 
says,  "  Without  meaning  to  call  in  question  the  fact  of  the  depres- 
sion of  his  skull,  we  happen  to  know  that  the  individual  here 
mentioned  has  a  remarkably  fine  and  exact  perception  of  colors. 


COLORING.  381 

SO  as  to  be  able  to  match  them  from  memory,  with  a  precision 
which  has  been  the  admiration  of  many  ladies  and  dressmakers. 
He  has  also  an  unconraion  sensibility  to  their  beauty  ;  and  spends 
more  time  than  most  people  in  gazing  on  bright  flowers  and  pea- 
cocks' necks,  and  wondering,  he  hopes  innocently,  what  can  be 
the  cause  of  his  enjoyment.  Even  the  phrenologists,  w^e  think, 
must  admit,  that,  in  his  case,  it  caimot  be  the  predominance  of 
the  appropriate  faculty,  since  they  have  ascertained  that  he  is 
totally  destitute  of  the  organ." 

In  a  letter  which  I  addressed  to  Mr.  Jeffrey,  in  answer  to  this 
criticism,*  I  asked,  "how  could  you  assert  in  the  Encyclopcedia, 
that  'Color  is  in  all  cases  absolutely  indifferent  to  the  eye,'  if  you 
were  conscious  when  you  wrote  of  possessing  '  an  uncommon 
sensibility  to  their  beauty  V  How  could  you  stigmatize  as  '  "ped- 
antry  and  jargon, '  the  doctrine  of  '  the  harmony  and  composition 
of  tints,  and  the  charms  and  difficulties  of  a  judicious  coloring,' 
and  assert,  'that  if  all  those  colors  were  fairly  arranged,  on  a  plain 
board,  according  to  the  most  rigid  rules  of  this  supposed  harmony, 
nobody  but  the  author  of  the  theory  would  perceive  the  smallest 
beauty  in  the  exhibition,  or  be  the  least  offended  by  reversing 
their  collocation, '  when  all  the  time  you  enjoyed  in  yourself  '  a 
remarkably  fine  and  exact  perception  of  colors,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
match  them  from  memory  with  a  precision  which  has  been  the 
admiration  of  many  ladies  and  dressmakers  ?'  " 

In  a  Note  to  the  89th  Number  of  the  Review,  Mr.  Jeffrey 
replied  to  this  argument  as  follows:  "There  are  two  questions 
here  :  Jirst,  whether  there  are  any  grounds,  from  inconsistency  or 
otherwise,  to  impeach  the  credit  of  the  Reviewer,  when  he  says 
that  he  can  distinguish  colors,  and  shades  of  colors,  with  more 
than  common  accuracy  ?  and,  secondly,  whether  there  are  any 
such  grounds  for  disbelieving  him,  when  he  says  tliat  he  has  a 
strong  sense  of  their  beauty?  The  first  is  the  main  allegation, 
and  formed  the  whole  original  subject  of  controversy.     Mr.  Combe 

*  Phreu.  Journal,  vol.  iv.  p.  1.,  and  also  p.  242. — I  beg  leave  to  refer  the  reader 
to  these  Letters  for  an.  answer  to  the  whole  of  Mr.  Jeffrey's  criticisms  on  this 
work. 


382  COLORING. 

alleged  that  the  organ  of  color  was  actually  depressed  in  the  head 
of  that  individual,  and  inferred  that  he  probably  did  not  know 
scai-let  from  brown :  it  was  answered  that  this  was  a  mistake, — 
for  he  was  known  to  have  a  remarkably  fine  perception  of  colors 
and  their  diversities  :  and  the  replication  to  this  in  the  pamplilet, 
is,  that  that  cannot  well  be,  since  he  himself  had  stated,  in  the 
Encyclopaedia,  that  all  colors  are  indifferent  to  the  eye,  and  one 
just  as  beautiful  as  another.  Well,  suppose  he  had  said  so,  where 
would  have  been  the  inconsistency  ?  for,  where  is  the  connexion 
between  the  allegations  that  are  held  to  be  contradictory  ?  A  man 
who  happens  to  think  brown  as  beautiful  as  scarlet,  may  surely 
perceive  the  difference  between  them, — or,  rather  he  must  perceive 
it,  when  he  compares  them,  in  this  way,  as  two  distinct  and  dis- 
tinguishable objects.  There  is  not,  therefore,  the  shadow  of  a 
pretext  for  discrediting  the  Reviewer's  leading  allegation,  that  the 
individual  alluded  to,  though  destitute  of  the  phrenological  organ, 
can  discriminate  colors  with  unusual  readiness  and  precision." 

In  answer  to  these  remarks,  I  beg  leave  to  observe,  that  Mr. 
Jeffrey  overstates  my  objection.  The  paragraph  on  which  he 
comments  is  printed  in  this  work  verbatim  as  it  stood  in  the 
previous  edition,  and  the  reader  will  perceive  that  I  did  not  allege 
that  the  organ  was  absolutely  wanting  in  his  head,  and  did  not 
infer  that  he  was  incapable  of  perceiving  colors,  or  that  "  he 
probably  did  not  know  scarlet  from  brown."  On  the  contrary, 
the  statement  was  merely  that  the  organ  is  "  depressed,"  that  is 
to  say,  that  in  him  it  is  deficient  in  size  relatively  to  the  other 
organs  ;  whereas  in  the  painters  it  is  large.  The  work  itself  afford- 
ed information  of  the  effect  of  a  depressed  organ  ;  it  is  said  "  that 
PERCEPTION  is  the  lowest  degree  of  activity,"  of  every  knowing 
and  reflecting  faculty ;  "when  a  colored  object  is  presented,  and 
the  individual  cannot  perceive,  so  as  to  distinguish  the  shades,  he 
is  destitute  of  the  power  of  manifesting  the  faculty  of  color  :" 
"  Each  organ  will  enable  the  mind  to  recall  the  impressions  which 
it  served  at  first  to  receive  ;"  and  memory  is  merely  "  a  degree 
of  activity  of  each  faculty."  A  friend  in  India,  after  reading  Mr. 
Jeffrey's  note,  wrote  to  me  as  follows  :  "Melody  is  the  pleasure 


COLORING.  '  383 

arising  from  successions  of  simple  sounds  suited  to  each  other. 
Harmony  is  that  ai'ising  from  combined  sounds,  or  from  several 
striking  the  ear  simultaneously,  as  in  a  band  playing  different  parts. 
The  former  requires  much  less  of  the  organ  than  the  latter,  and 
hence  the  Scotch,  with  no  great  Tune,  are  melodists,  but  nothing 
as  musicians.  In  like  manner,  the  allocation  of  simple  colors  is 
their  melody,  and  the  combination  of  several  is  harmony.  Mr. 
Jeffrey  might  thus  place  one  riband  beside  another  very  well,  but 
not  perceive  the  harmony  of  combined  colors."*  There  is  no 
inconsistency,  therefore,  between  the  depression  of  Mr.  Jeffrey's 
organ  of  Coloring  and  the  manifestations  which  he  describes.  Mr. 
Milne  even  is  able  to  perceive  some  colors,  to  distinguish  differ- 
ences between  them,  and  he  has  memory  of  some  of  them;  although 
in  him  the  organ  is  considerably  moi'e  depressed  than  in  Mr. 
Jeffrey.  The  real  objection  stated  in  the  work  was,  that  painters 
not  only  distinguish  differences,  but  enjoy  direct  pleasure  from 
"  contemplating  colors  independently  of  every  association,  and 
that  they  perceive  harmony,  or  congruity  and  incongruity,  in  their 
arrangements,  even  on  a  plain  board,  as  certainly  and  as  distinctly 
as  they  distinguish  harmony  and  discord  in  sound,"  which  asser- 
tions Mr.  Jeffrey  designated  as  pedantry  and  jargon. 

In  answer  to  my  statement,  therefore,  he  ought  to  have  proved, 
that,  notwithstanding  of  his  depressed  organ,  he  possesses  the 
faculty  in  this  higher  degree,  that  he  actually  receives  direct 
pleasure  from  colors,  and  perceives  their  harmonies  and  discords. 
In  No.  88.  of  the  Review,  he  endeavored  to  do  this,  by  referring 
to  his  "remarkably  fine  and  exact  perception  of  colors,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  match  them  from  memory ; "  and,  to  his  delight,  '-'  in 
gazing  on  bright  flowers  and  peacocks'  necks;"  and  in  No.  89.  of 
the  Review,  he  favors  us  with  the  following  additional  arguments 
in  support  of  this  position. 

"  2.  But,  in  the  next  place,"  says  Mr.  Jeffrey,  "and  this  is  still 
more  material,  it  is  certain  that  the  individual  in  question  does  not 

*  1  understand  that  this  defect  is  apparent  in  some  painters ;  they  are  capable 
of  matching  a  few  simple  colors,  but  when  a  numerous  assemblage  of  them  re- 
quires to  be  introduced  into  a  picture,  they  fail  in  giving  them  harmony. 


384  COLORING. 

maintain,  in  the  Encyclopaedia,  that  there  is  no  beauty  in  colors, 
or  combinations  of  colors, — but  the  very  reverse.  His  whole 
object  in  that  treatise,  as  every  one  must  know  who  has  looked 
into  a  line  of  it,  is,  not  to  deny  the  existence  of  beauty,  but  to 
explain  its  nature  and  causes,  in  colors  as  in  every  thing  else  :  And, 
accordingly,  not  only  is  there  no  doubt  thrown  on  the  fact  of  their 
beauty,  but  its  reality,  and  that  of  the  peculiar  pleasure  afforded  by 
it,  is  both  expressly  asserted,  in  a  variety  of  passages,  and  con- 
stantly assumed  and  taken  for  granted,  as  the  very  basis  of  the 
theory,  and  the  test  of  its  illustrations,  which  are  urged  in  its  sup- 
port. The  theory  is,  that  colors  are  beautiful,  not  in  consequence 
of  the  mere  organic  operation  of  their  physical  qualities  on  the  eye, 
but  in  consequence  of  their  habitual  association  with  certain  simple 
emotions  or  mental  qualities,  of  which  they  remind  us  in  a  great 
variety  of  ways.  Thus  Blue,  for  example,  is  said  to  be  beautiful, 
because  it  is  the  color  of  the  unclouded  sky, — Green,  because  it  is 
that  of  vernal  woods  and  summer  meadows, — and  Red,  because  it 
reminds  us  of  the  season  of  roses,  or  of  the  blushes  of  youth  and 
innocence ; — and,  accordingly,  when  these  associations  are  dis- 
turbed, the  beauty  which  they  created  disappears.  Green  would 
not  be  beautiful  in  the  sky,  nor  blue  on  the  cheek,  nor  vermilion 
on  the  grass.  ,  The  doctrine  is  precisely  the  same  as  to  the  beauty 
of  combination  of  colors,  and  it  is  attempted  to  be  proved  by  sim- 
ilar illustrations.  Throughout  it  is  distinctly  stated,  and  invariably 
assumed  as  indisputable,  that  they  are  beautiful,  and  afford  pleasure 
to  those  who  admire  them, — though  it  is  alleged  that  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  pedantry  in  those  who  dogmatize  on  the  laws  of  their 
harmony,  and  affect  to  limit  their  pleasing  combinations  exclusively 
to  certain  arrangements.  It  is  maintained,  as  before,  that  their 
beauty  depends  entirely  on  the  associations  with  which  they  are 
connected  ;  and  while  it  is  admitted  that  certain  combinations  will 
generally  excite  the  same  associations  in  those  who  are  devoted  to 
the  same  pursuits,  it  is  denied  that  these  are  either  universal  or 
unvarying,  or  that  the  feehng  they  undoubtedly  excite  can  ever  be 
referred  to  the  organic  action  of  the  colored  light  on  the  sense. 
These  opinions  may  be  right  or  wrong,  but  the  only  question  now 


COLORING.  385 

at  issue  is,  whether  they  are  inconsistent  with  the  admission  of  the 
fact,  that  colors  are  beautiful  ?  and  whether  the  man  who  holds 
them  must  be  disbeUeved,  when  he  says  that  he  has  a  keen  sense 
of  this  kind  of  beauty?" 

In  this  note,  Mr.  Jeffrey  no  longer  wonders  what  can  be  the 
cause  of  his  enjoyment  from  the  bright  flowers  and  peacocks'  necks. 
He  informs  us  distinctly,  that  he  has  no  direct  perception  of  beauty 
in  their  colors  as  mere  colors,  but  that  the  beauty  perceived  by 
him  depends  ^^  entirely  on  the  associations  with  which  they  are 
connected."  "  Colors,"  says  he,  "are  beautiful^  not  in  conse- 
quence of  the  mere  organic  operation  of  their  physical  qualities  on 
the  eye,  but  in  consequence  of  their  habitual  association  with  certain 
simple  emotions  or  mental  qualities  of  which  they  remind  us  in  a 
great  variety  of  ways."  It  now  turns  out,  accordingly,  that  his 
pleasure  in  contemplating  the  bright  flowers  and  peacocks'  necks 
arose,  not  from  any  quality  in  these  objects  themselves,  or  from 
any  direct  effect  produced  by  them  on  his  own  mind,  but  that  he 
instantly  passed  away  from  the  contemplation  of  their  hues,  and 
dwelt  on  something  else,  which  they  served  merely  to  introduce  to 
bis  fancy.  He  was  pleased,  for  example,  with  the  red  of  the 
flowers,  not  because  it  was  a  color  grateful  in  itself,  but  because 
it  reminded  him  of  the  lovely  season  in  which  roses  are  produced, 
or  of  the  blushes  of  youth  and  innocence  ;  and  he  delighted  in  the 
blue  of  the  peacocks'  necks,  not  because  that  color  was  intrinsically 
pleasing,  but  because  it  excited  the  recollection  of  the  unclouded 
sky.  The  painters,  on  the  other  hand,  in  whom  the  organ  is  large, 
slate  that  all  this  is  the  very  opposite  of  the  sources  of  their  pleas- 
tire  from  colors.  They  inform  me  that  the  very  circumstance,  of 
Mr.  Jeffrey  preferring  bright  flowers  and  peacocks'  necks,  indicates 
that  his  mental  power  is  weak,  that  it  requires  a  strong  stimulus  to 
excite  it  to  action,  and  even  when  thus  stimulated,  it  is  not  capable 
of  producing  feelings  of  direct  pleasure,  or  perceptions  of  harmony 
and  discord,  which,  from  their  large  organs,  they  decidedly  enjoy. 
His  experience,  therefore,  corresponds  in  the  most  complete  man- 
ner with  the  "depressed  "  state  of  the  organ  in  his  bead. 

This  is  so  plain  as  scarcely  to  admit  of  illustration  ;  but  we  may 
49 


386  COLORING. 

suppose  an  author  to  assert  that  there  is  no  harmony  or  discord  in 
sound,  and  no  direct  pleasure  from  melody;  but  that,  nevertheless, 
he  enjoys  great  delight  in  hearing  a  military  band.  If  we  were  to 
proceed  to  ask  such  a  person,  what  could  be  the  source  of  his 
delight  in  the  band,  and  he  should  answer,  "  Oh,  the  notes  them- 
selves of  the  bugle,  clarionet,  and  flute,  give  me  no  pleasure,  but 
they  remind  me  of  the  gay  uniforms,  the  waving  plumes,  and  fine 
martial  forms  of  the  lancers  ;  they  recall  the  summer  evening  pa- 
rade, with  the  loveliness  of  earth  and  sky  in  that  delightful  season, 
the  smiles  of  beauty  and  fashion  that  animate  and  adorn  the  scene  ; 
and  hence  the  band  gives  me  the  highest  gratification."  If  such  a 
statement  were  made,  who  that  enjoys  a  sensibility  to  music,  would 
not  say  that  Phrenology  would  be  in  fault  if  such  a  man  were  not 
deficient  in  the  organ  of  Tune?  In  fact,  the  individual  supposed, 
would  never  dwell  for  a  moment  on  the  music  itself;  to  him  it 
would  be  mere  sound,  to  excite  in  his  mind  the  ideas  of  the  lancers 
and  the  parade  ;  which  would  be  the  real  sources  of  his  enjoyment, 
and  objects  of  his  admiration.  This  case  is  an  exact  parallel  to 
that  of  Mr.  Jeffrey,  in  regard  to  colors.  The  colors  themselves 
exhibit  no  beauty  to  his  mind ;  they  make  no  impression  of  an 
agreeable  nature,  so  as  to  engage  his  attention  with  their  own  love- 
liness ;  they  merely  usher  in  extraneous  ideas  and  emotions,  in 
which  he  finds  real  gratification.  Would  not  Phrenology  be  in 
fault,  if  in  him  the  organ  of  Coloring  were  otherwise  than  "  de- 
pressed?" 

A  legal  practitioner,  in  a  country  town  of  Scotland,  whom  I  have 
seen,  and  in  whom  this  organ  was  very  large,  was  engrossed  by  a 
passion  for  showy  flowers,  even  to  the  neglect  of  urgent  calls  on 
his  attention.  It  is  probable  that  the  intense  sensibility  to  colors, 
which  accompanies  a  large  developement  of  the  organ,  was  the 
source  of  this  interest. 

Phrenologists  are  accustomed  to  infer  the  particular  powers 
which  are  most  vigorous  in  an  author's  mind,  from  the  manifesta- 
tions of  them  in  his  works  ;  and  none  affords  better  scope  for  ob- 
servation than  the  faculty  of  Coloring.  Unless  the  impressions 
made  on  the  mind  of  an  author  by  colors  were  very  strong,  he 


COLORING.  387 

has  no  inducement  to  introduce  them,  for  he  can  easily  treat  of  a 
great  variety  of  subjects,  without  adverting  to  their  hues.  When, 
therefore,  we  find  him  minutely  describing  shades  and  tints,  and 
dwelling  on  colors  and  their  effects  with  evident  dehght,  we  may 
safely  infer  that  the  organ  is  large.  Mr.  Tennant,  the  author  of 
Anster  Fair,  frequently  does  so,  and  in  his  head  the  organ  is 
large. 

The  organ  is  generally  larger  in  women  than  in  men ;  and, 
accordingly,  some  women,  as  colorists,  have  equalled  the  masters 
among  men ;  while  as  painters^  women,  in  general,  have  always 
been  inferior  to  the  other  sex.  The  faculty  aids  the  flower-painter, 
enaraeller,  dyer,  and,  in  general,  all  who  occupy  themselves  with 
colors.  Its  great  energy  gives  a  passion  for  colors,  but  not 
necessarily  a  delicate  taste  in  them.  Taste  depends  upon  a  per- 
fect rather  than  a  very  powerful  activity  of  the  faculties.  In 
several  oriental  nations,  for  example,  the  faculty  appears,  from 
their  love  of  colors,  to  be  strong,  and,  nevertheless,  they  display 
bad  taste  in  the  application  of  them. 

Dr.  Spurzheim  observed,  that,  in  persons  born  blind,  the  organ 
of  Coloring  is  in  general  less  developed  than  in  persons  who  see, 
or  who  have  become  blind  after  mature  age.  Dr.  Gall  mentions, 
that  he  had  seen  a  bookseller  of  Augsburg,  blind  from  birth,  who 
maintained  that  it  is  not  the  eye  but  the  intellect,  which  recognises, 
judges  and  produces  proportion  among  colors.  This  individual 
asserted,  that,  by  means  of  an  internal  sense,  he  had  precise  notions 
of  colors ;  and  it  is  a  fact  that  he  determined  their  harmony  exact- 
ly. He  had  a  number  of  glass  beads,  of  various  colors,  which  he 
formed  into  different  figures,  and  always  produced  harmony  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  colors.  After  making  a  great  effort,  of  this 
kind,  he  experienced  pain  immediately  above  the  eye,  particularly 
above  the  right  eye. — (Vol.  v.  p.  85.)  I  have  seen  a  blind  man 
in  Stirling,  who  distinguished  colors  with  great  accuracy  by  means 
of  touch.  Derham,  in  his  Physico-Theology,  b.  iv.  ch.  6.,  men- 
tions a  similar  case,  and  observes,  that  "  although  the  eye  be  the 
usual  judge  of  colors,  yet  some  have  been  able  to  distinguish  them 
by  feeling."     These  facts  show  that  it  is  not  the  eye  alone  which 


LOCALITY. 


judges  of  colors,  because  a  function  can  in  no  case  be  possessed 
without  the  organ  on  which  it  depends. 
The  organ  is  considered  as  established. 


Genus    III. — intellectual   faculties   which   per- 
ceive   THE    RELATIONS    OF   EXTERNAL    OBJECTS. 

27. LOCALITY. 

Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that  the  taste  which  he  had  for  natural 
history  induced  him  frequently  to  go  into  the  woods  to  catch  birds, 
or  to  discover  their  nests ;  and  although  he  was  expert  in  accom- 
plishing these  objects,  yet,  when  he  wished  to  return  to  the  nests, 
he  generally  found  it  impossible  to  retrace  his  way,  or  to  light  upon 
the  tree  which  he  had  marked,  or  the  snares  which  he  had  placed. 
This  difficulty  did  not  arise  from  inattention,  for,  before  quitting 
the  spot,  he  stuck  branches  in  the  ground,  and  cut  marks  on  trees, 
to  guide  him  in  his  return,  but  all  in  vain.  He  was  obliged  to  take 
constantly  along  with  him  one  of  his  school-fellows,  named  Scheid- 
ler,  who,  with  the  least  possible  effort  of  attention,  went  always 
straight  to  the  place  where  a  snare  was  set,  even  although  they  had 
sometimes  placed  ten  or  fifteen  in  a  quarter  that  was  not  familiarly 
known  to  them.  As  this  youth  possessed  only  very  ordinary 
talents  in  other  respects.  Dr.  Gall  was  much  struck  with  his  facility 
in  recollecting  places,  and  frequently  asked  him  how  he  contrived 
to  guide  himself  so  surely ;  to  which  he  replied  by  asking  Gall, 
in  his  turn,  how  he  contrived  to  lose  himself  everywhere.  In  the 
hope  of  one  day  obtaining  some  explanation  of  this  peculiarity, 
Dr.  Gall  moulded  his  head  ;  and  endeavored  to  discover  persons 
who  were  distinguished  by  the  same  faculty.  The  celebrated 
landscape-painter  Schsenberger  told  him,  that,  in  his  travels,  he 
was  in  the  custom  of  making  only  a  very  general  sketch  of  coun- 


LOCALITY.  389 

tries  which  interested  him,  and  that  afterwards,  when  he  wished 
to  produce  a  more  complete  picture,  every  tree,  every  group  of 
bushes,  and  every  stone  of  any  considerable  magnitude,  presented 
itself  spontaneously  to  his  mind.  About  the  same  period  Dr. 
Gall  became  acquainted  with  M.  Meyer,  author  of  the  romance 
of  "  X)ia-Wfl!-/Sore,"  a  person  who  found  no  pleasure  except  in  a 
wandering  life.  Sometimes  he  went  from  house  to  house  in  the 
country,  and  at  other  times  attached  himself  to  some  man  of  for- 
tune, to  accompany  him  in  extended  travels.  He  had  an  astonish- 
ing faculty  in  recollecting  the  different  places  which  he  had  seen. 
Dr.  Gall  moulded  his  head  also ;  he  then  placed  it  and  the  other 
two  together,  and  compared  them  attentively  ;  they  presented  great 
differences  in  many  points,  but  he  was  struck  with  the  singular 
form  which  appeared  in  all  the  three  a  little  above  the  eyes,  and 
on  the  two  sides  of  the  organ  of  Individuality,  viz.  two  large 
prominences  commencing  near  each  side  of  the  nose,  and  going 
obliquely  upwards  and  outwards,  almost  as  high  as  the  middle  of 
the  forehead.  From  that  time  he  was  led  to  suppose,  that  the 
talent  for  recollecting  places  depended  on  a  primitive  faculty,  of 
which  the  organ  was  situated  under  this  part  of  the  skull ;  innume- 
rable subsequent  observations  confirmed  this  inference. 

Dr.  Spurzheira  states,  that  "the  special  faculty  of  this  organ, 
and  the  sphere  of  its  activity,  remain  to  be  determined.  It  makes 
the  traveller,  geographer,  and  landscape-painter,  recollect  localities, 
and  gives  notions  of  perspective.  It  seems  to  me,  says  he,  that  il 
is  the  faculty  of  Locality  in  general.  As  soon  as  we  have  con- 
ceived the  existence  of  an  object  and  its  qualities,  it  must  neces- 
sarily occupy  a  place,  and  this  is  the  faculty  that  conceives  -the 
places  occupied  by  the  objects  that  surround  us."*  Sir  George 
S.  Mackenzie  considers  the  primitive  faculty  to  be  that  of  per- 
ceiving relative  position.  Dr.  Spurzheim  states,  that  "notions 
of  perspective  "  are  given  by  Locality,  but  certain  facts,  already 
noticed,  appear  to  show  that  these  depend  rather  on  Size  :  in  other 
respects  his  observations  coincide  with  my  own  experience. 

Persons  in  whom  this  organ   is  large,  form  vivid  and  distinct 

*  Phrenology,  p.  319. 


390  LOCALITY. 

conceptions  of  situations  and  scenery  which  they  have  seen  or 
heard  described,  and  they  have  great  power  in  recalling  such  con- 
ceptions. When  the  faculty  is  active  from  internal  excitement  of 
the  organ,  such  ideas  are  presented  to  them  involuntarily.  In  the 
mask  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  the  organ  is  large.  Readers,  similarly 
endowed,  are  almost  as  much  delighted  with  his  descriptions  of 
scenery,  as  by  a  tour  made  by  themselves  amid  the  mountain  glens; 
while  those  in  whom  the  organ  is  small,  are  quite  uninterested  by 
his  most  splendid  poetical  landscapes.  This  author  writes  so 
pictorially,  that  he  almost  saves  an  artist,  who  means  to  illustrate 
his  pages,  the  trouble  of  invention. 

An  author,  in  whom  this  organ  is  moderately  developed,  treats 
of  places  in  a  very  different  manner.  Mr.  Tennant,  the  author  of 
Anster  Fair  and  the  Thane  of  Fife,  merely  designates,  by  appro- 
priate epithets,  the  leading  features  of  a  landscape,  in  a  way  which 
excites  a  pleasing  and  distinct  recollection  of  it  in  those  who  have 
seen  it,  but  which  calls  up  no  picture  in  the  mind  of  a  reader  who 
was  not  familiar  with  it  before  ;  and  in  his  head  the  organ  of  Local- 
ity is  below  an  average  size.  The  following  lines  are  characteristic 
of  his  manner  • 

"  Next  them  the  troopers  each  on  fervent  steed 
That  dwell  within  the  warm  andfloioery  dales 
JVhere  Annan  and  where  Esk,  and  Liddle,  lead 
Their  streams  dawn  tripping  through  the  sunny  vales, 
And  where  the  stronger  and  more  sioelling  Tweed 
Emergent  from  his  midland  mountain,  trails 
Voluminous  and  broad  his  waters  dozen 
To  meet  the  briny  sea  by  bulwark'd  Berwick  town." 

The  organ  is  large  in  the  busts  and  portraits  of  all  eminent 
navigators  and  travellers,  such  as  Columbus,  Cook,  and  Mungo 
Park ;  also  in  great  astronomers  and  geographers,  as  Kepler, 
Galileo,  Tycho  Brache,  and  Newton.  In  Tasso  the  poet,  it 
appears  also  to  have  been  very  large,  and  he  manifested  the  faculty 
in  a  high  degree.  This  faculty  gives  what  is  called  "  Coup  d^ceil," 
and  judgment  of  the  capabilities  of  ground.  It  is  necessary  to  the 
military  draughtsman,  and  is  of  great  importance  to  a  general  in 


LOCALITY.  391 

war.  Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that  he  had  observed  the  organ  large  in 
distinguished  players  at  chess ;  and  he  conceived  their  talent  to 
consist  in  the  faculty  of  conceiving  clearly  a  great  number  of  the 
possible  positions  of  the  men. 

Some  persons  have  an  instinctive  tact  at  discriminating  and  re- 
collecting the  situation  of  the  organs  on  the  Phrenological  bust, 
while  others  experience  the  greatest  difficulty  in  doing  so.  The 
former  have  Locality  and  Form  large,  the  latter  small,  indicated  by 
a  general  narrowness  at  the  top  of  the  nose.  The  latter  state  their 
own  inabihty  as  an  objection  against  the  system ;  but  this  is  equally 
logical  as  if  Mr.  Milne  were  to  deny  the  existence  of  a  variety  of 
colors,  because  his  own  organ  of  Coloring  is  so  defective  that  he 
cannot  perceive  them. 

Locality  appears  to  be  an  element  in  a  genius  for  geometry. 
In  the  heads  or  busts  of  six  or  seven  eminent  mathematicians  which 
I  have  carefully  examined,  tliis  organ,  and  also  those  of  Size,  Indi- 
viduality and  Comparison,  are  large.  Indeed,  pure  geometry  treats 
only  of  the  relations  of  space,  and  does  not  imply  agency,  or  any 
relation,  except  that  of  proportion;  and  hence  it  might  be  legiti- 
mately inferred  to  belong  to  the  sphere  of  the  organs  now  mention- 
ed. Negative  cases  also  coincide  with  these  positive  observations. 
Zerah  Colburn,  the  American  youth  who  was  celebrated  for  his 
arithmetical  powers,  turned  his  attention  to  mathematics,  but  with 
very  little  success.  He  stated  to  me  that  he  had  been  taught  the 
first  six  books  of  Euclid,  and  understood  the  propositions,  but  felt 
no  interest  in  the  study.  He  liked  algebra  much  better ;  and  he 
has  the  organ  of  Number  large,  but  that  of  Locality  deficient.  The 
gentleman  who  had  taken  charge  of  his  education,  it  is  said,  at  first 
intended  him  for  a  mathematician,  but  afterwards,  finding  that  his 
genius  did  not  lie  that  way,  directed  his  attention  to  law.  Mr. 
George  Bidder,  when  a  mere  child,  displayed  such  astonishing 
talent  as  a  mental  calculator,  that  several  gentlemen  in  Edinburgh 
were  induced  to  take  charge  of  his  education;  and,  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  his  abilities  extended  to  mathematical  science  generally, 
selected  for  him  the  profession  of  an  engineer.  Having  heard  of 
this  intention,  and  having  observed  that  in  his  head  the  organs  of 


392  LOCALITY. 

the  mathematical  faculties  were  not  developed  in  any  extraordinary 
degree,  I  inferred  that  his  eminence  as  a  mathematician  would  not 
equal  that  which  he  had  attained  as  a  calculator,  and  communicated 
this  conviction  in  writing  to  Principal  Baird,  one  of  his  patrons. 
Mr.  Bidder  subsequently  pursued  the  study  of  mathematics ;  but, 
at  the  end  of  two  years,  both  he  himself  and  Professor  Wallace 
informed  me,  that  he  was  not  distinguished  for  more  than  common 
ability  in  the  class. 

When  the  group  of  organs  situated  at  the  top  of  the  nose,  namely, 
Individuality,  Form,  Size,  Weight,  and  Locality,  are  all  large, 
there  is  generally  a  strong  talent  for  dynamics.  Persons  thus  en- 
dowed excel  in  turning,  and  in  archery  ;  and  if  Constructiveness 
be  also  full,  and  they  have  been  bred  to  professions  in  which  they 
find  no  scope  for  these  faculties,  they  frequently  set  up  private 
work-shops,  and  become  inventors  and  improvers  of  machinery. 

The  organ  of  Locality  is  generally  much  larger  in  men  than  in 
women  ;  and  the  manifestations  correspond. 

Dr.  Gall  cites  several  cases  of  diseased  affection  of  this  organ ; 
and  in  the  Phrenological  Journal,*  Mr.  Simpson  gives  a  liighly 
interesting  detail  of  symptoms  attending  disorder  of  this  and  the 
other  knowing  organs  already  treated  of. 

This  organ  is  possessed  by  the  lower  animals,  and  many  inter- 
esting facts  are  recorded  of  their  manifestations  of  the  faculty.  Dr. 
Gall  mentions  several  instances  of  dogs  returning  to  their  homes 
from  a  great  distance,  without  the  possibility  of  their  having  been 
guided  by  smell  or  sight.  "A  dog,"  says  he,  "was  carried  in  a 
coach  from  Vienna  to  St.  Petersburgh,  and  at  tlie  end  of  six 
months  reappeared  in  Vienna :  Another  was  transported  from 
Vienna  to  London  ; — he  attached  himself  to  a  traveller,  and  em- 
barked along  with  him ;  but  at  the  moment  of  landing,  he  made 
his  escape  and  returned  to  his  native  city.  Another  dog  was  sent 
from  Lyons  to  Marseilles,  where  he  was  embarked  for  Naples,  and 
he  found  his  way  back  by  land  to  Lyons."  An  ass  shipped  at 
Gibraltai-  on  board  the  Isler  Frigate  in  1816,  was  throv/n  over- 
board, when  the  vessel  struck,  at  Point-de-Gat  in  Spain,  a  distance 

Nq.  vii.  p.  426. 


NUMBER.  393 

of  200  miles.  His  eai's  had  holes  in  them,  indicating  that  he 
had  been  used  for  carrying  criminals  when  flogged,  and  as  such 
asses  are  abhorred  by  the  peasantry,  no  one  stopped  him,  and  he 
immediately  returned,  through  a  mountainous  and  intricate  country, 
intersected  by  streams,  to  Gibraltar. — Riby  and  Spence's  Entomo- 
logy, p.  496.  The  common  hypothesis,  Dr.  Gall  observes,  that 
dogs  retrace  their  way  by  the  aid  of  smell,  appears  abundantly 
absurd,  when  applied  to  cases  in  which  they  were  transported  by 
water,  or  in  a  coach;  and  the  idea  that  these  animals  can  discover  the 
effluvia  of  their  master's  person  across  a  space  of  several  hun- 
dred leagues,  appears  equally  preposterous.  Besides,  a  dog  does 
not  return  home  by  the  straightestroad,  nor  even  by  the  precise  line 
in  which  he  was  carried  away;  and  some  naturalists  have  therefore 
been  obliged  to  admit  an  occult  cause  of  this  surprising  talent,  and 
named  it  a  sixth  sense.  Dr.  Gall  considers  it  to  belong  to  the  organ 
of  Locality.  The  falcon  of  Iceland  returns  to  its  native  place  from 
a  distance  of  thousands  of  miles;  and  carrier  pigeons  have  long  been 
celebrated  for  a  similar  tendency,  and  have  occasionally  been  em- 
ployed in  consequence  to  convey  despatches.  Swallows,  night- 
ingales, and  a  vai-iety  of  sea-fowls,  migrate  from  one  climate  to 
another  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  which  is  attributed  by  Dr. 
Gall  to  periodical  and  involuntary  excitement  of  this  organ. 

The  frontal  sinus  has  been  stated  as  an  objection  to  Locality,  but 
it  rarely  ascends  higher  than  the  lower  part  of  it ;  and  while  prom- 
inences formed  by  the  sinus  are  irregular  in  form,  and  generally 
horizontal  in  direction,  the  elevations  occasioned  by  a  large  devel- 
opement  of  Locality  are  uniform  in  shape,  and  extend  obliquely 
upwards  towai'ds  the  middle  of  the  forehead.  Further,  the  nega- 
tive evidence  in  favor  of  the  organ  is  irresistible,  and  it  is  there- 
fore held  as  established. 

28. NUMBER. 

A  SCHOLAR  of  St.  Poelton,  near  Vienna,  was  greatly  spoken  of 
in  that  city,  on  account  of  his  extraordinary  talent  for  calculation. 
50 


394  NUMBER. 

He  was  the  son  of  a  blacksmith,  who  had  not  received  any  partic- 
ular instruction  beyond  that  bestowed  on  other  boys  at  the  same 
school;  and  in  all  other  respects  was  nearly  on  a  footing  of  equality 
with  them.  Dr.  Gall  made  him  come  to  Vienna,  and  presented 
him  to  his  audience  when  he  was  nine  years  of  age.  '-'Lorsqu'on 
lui  donnait,"  says  Dr.  Gall,  "je  suppose,  trois  nombres  exprimes 
chacun  par  dix  a  douze  chifFres,  en  lui  demandant  de  les  additionner, 
puis  de  les  soustraire  deux  a  deux,  de  les  multiplier  et  de  les 
diviser  chacun  par  un  nombre  de  trois  chifFres ;  il  regardait  une 
seule  fois  les  nombres,  puis  il  levait  le  nez  et  les  yeux  en  Pair,  et 
il  indiquait  le  resultat  de  son  calcul  mental  avant  que  mes  auditeurs 
n'eussent  eu  le  temps  de  faire  le  calcul  la  plume  a  la  main.  II 
avait  cree  lui-meme  sa  methode."  An  advocate  of  Vienna  stated 
his  regret  that  his  son,  of  five  years  of  age,  occupied  himself  exclu- 
sively with  numbers  and  calculation,  in  such  a  manner  that  it  was 
impossible  to  fix  his  attention  on  any  other  object,  not  even  on  the 
games  of  youth.  Dr.  Gall  compared  his  head  with  that  of  the  boy 
just  mentioned,  and  found  no  particular  resemblance,  except  in  a 
remarkable  prominence  at  the  external  angle  of  the  eye,  and  a  little 
to  the  side.  In  both,  the  eye  was  in  some  degree  covered  by  the 
external  angle  of  the  upper  eyebrow.  These  cases  suggested  the 
idea  that  the  talent  for  calculation  might  be  connected  with  a  par- 
ticular organ;  and  Dr.  Gall  sought  for  men  distinguished  for  this 
power,  in  order  to  verify  the  discovery.  He  repaired  to  the 
Councillor  Mantelli,  whose  favorite  occupation  was  to  invent  and 
solve  problems  in  mathematics,  and  particularly  in  arithmetic,  and 
found  the  same  configuration  in  him.  He  next  went  to  Baron 
Vega,  author  of  Tables  of  Logarithms,  at  that  time  Professor  of 
Mathematics,  and  who,  in  every  other  talent,  "  etait  un  homme 
fort  mediocre,"  and  found  in  him  the  same  form  of  head.  He 
then  visited  private  famihes  and  schools,  and  desired  the  children 
distinguished  for  ability  in  calculation  to  be  pointed  out  to  him  ; 
and  still  the  same  developement  recurred.  He  therefore  felt 
himself  constrained  to  admit  a  special  organ  and  faculty  for  this 
talent. 


NUMBER.  395 

The  organ,  when  large,  fills  up  the  head  outside  of  the  external 
angle  of  the  eye,  a  very  little  below  the  point  called  the  external 
angular  process  of  the  frontal  bone. 

The  special  function  of  the  faculty  seems  to  be  calculation  in 
general.  Dr.  Gall  calls  it  "  jLe  sens  des  nombres;  "  and,  while 
he  states  distinctly  that  arithmetic  is  its  chief  sphere,  he  regards  it 
as  also  the  organ  of  mathematics.  Dr.  Spurzheim,  on  the  other 
hand,  limits  its  functions  to  arithmetic,  algebra,  and  logarithms  ; 
and  is  of  opinion  that  the  other  branches  of  mathematics,  as  geom- 
etry, &c.  are  not  the  simple  results  of  this  faculty.  In  this  analysis 
he  appears  to  me  to  be  well  founded.  Mr.  George  Bidder,  when 
only  seven  years  of  age,  and  without  any  previous  instruction, 
showed  an  extraordinary  talent  for  mental  calculation  ;  and  I  have 
seen  him,  when  only  eleven,  answer  the  most  complicated  ques- 
tions in  algebra,  in  a  minute,  or  a  minute  and  a  half,  without  the 
aid  of  notation.  When  he  first  came  to  Edinburgh,  and  before  I 
had  seen  him,  a  gentleman  waited  on  me,  accompanied  by  three 
boys  of  nearly  equal  ages,  and  said,  "  One  of  these  is  George 
Bidder,  the  celebrated  mental  calculator,  can  you  tell  which  is  he 
by  his  head  .''  "  On  examining  the  organ  of  Number  in  all  of  them, 
I  replied  that  one  of  them  ought  to  be  decidedly  deficient  in  arith- 
metical talent ;  that  another  should  possess  it  in  a  considerable 
degree  ;  but  that  the  third  must  be  Bidder,  because,  in  him,  the 
organ  was  developed  to  an  extraordinary  extent.  The  gentleman 
then  stated  that  the  indications  were  perfecdy  correct ;  that  the 
first  was  a  boy  who  had  been  remarked  as  dull  in  his  arithmetical 
studies  ;  the  second  was  the  most  expert  calculator  selected  from 
a  school  in  Edinburgh  ;  and  the  third  was  Bidder.  Dr.  Gall 
mentions  a  similar  experiment  which  was  tried  with  him,  and  with 
the  same  result.  He  gives  a  detailed  account  of  Zerah  Colburn, 
the  American  youth  who  exhibited  great  talents  for  calculation,  and 
in  whom  also  the  organ  was  found  large.  This  young  man  visited 
Edinburgh,  and  afforded  the  phrenologists  of  this  city  an  opportu- 
nity of  verifying  Dr.  Gall's  observations,  which  were  found  to  be 
correct.     Masks  of  him  and  Bidder  were  taken,  and  now  form 


396  NUMBER. 

part  of  the  Phrenological  Society's  collection.  These  two  exam- 
ples, however,  prove  tliat  Dr.  Spurzheim  is  right  in  limiting  the 
function  of  this  faculty  to  calculation  of  numbers  ;  as  neither  of 
these  young  men  have  proved  so  eminent  in  geometry  as  in  arith- 
metic and  algebra.  The  organ  is  large  also  in  the  mask  of  Hum- 
boldt, celebrated  for  his  powers  of  calculation.  This  organ,  and 
Individuality,  both  large,  give  the  talent  of  recollecting  dates. 

I  am  acquainted  with  other  individuals  in  whom  this  organ  is 
deficient,  and  who  experience  great  difficulty  in  solving  the  most 
ordinary  arithmetical  questions,  who,  indeed,  have  never  been  able 
to  learn  the  multiphcation  table,  or  to  perform  readily  common 
addition  and  substraction,  even  after  persevering  efforts  to  attain 
expertness.  This  organ  is  small  in  the  mask  marked  "French 
M.  D.;  "  and  it  serves  as  a  contrast,  in  this  respect,  to  those  just 
mentioned,  in  which  it  is  large. 

Dr.  Gall  observes,  that  when  this  organ  predominates  m  an  indi- 
vidual, all  his  faculties  receive  an  impression  from  it.  He  knew 
a  physician  in  whom  it  was  very  large,  who  labored  to  reduce  the 
study  of  medicine,  and  even  the  virtue  of  particular  medicaments, 
to  mathematical  principles  ;  and  one  of  his  friends,  thus  endowed, 
endeavored  to  found  an  universal  language  on  similar  grounds. 

Dr.  Spurzheim  mentions,  that  "  certain  races  of  Negroes  make 
five  the  extent  of  their  enumeration,  that  is,  they  count  only  as  far 
as  five  by  simple  terms;  they  say,  "  five-one,  five-two, five-three," 
&c.  "Negroes  in  general,"  he  continues,  "do  not  excel  in 
arithmetic  and  numbers  ;  and,  accordingly,  their  heads  are  narrow 
in  the  seat  of  the  organ  of  Number."  Humboldt  also  mentions 
that  the  Chaymas  (a  people  in  the  Spanish  parts  of  South  America) 
"  have  great  difficulty  in  comprehending  any  thing  that  belongs  to 
■numerical  relations;"  and  that  "the  more  intelligent  count  in 
Spanish  with  an  air  that  denotes  a  great  effort  of  mind,  so  far  as 
30,  or  perhaps  50  ; "  and  he  adds,  that  "  the  corner  of  the  eye 
is  sensibly  raised  up  towards  the  temple." 

Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that  two  of  his  acquaintances  felt  pain  in  the 
region  of  this  organ,  after  being  occupied  for  several  days  in  sue- 


I 


ORDER.  397 

cession  with  difficult  calculations.  In  the  Hospital  of  Vienna,  he 
saw  a  patient  whose  insanity  degenerated  into  idiocy,  but  who 
nevertheless  occupied  himself  solely  with  counting.  He  stopped, 
however,  regularly  at  ninety-nine  ;  could  never  be  induced  to  say 
one  hundred,  and  recommenced  counting  at  one.  M.  L.  A.  Gselis, 
in  his  Treatise  on  Acute  and  Chronic  Hydrocephalus,  mentions 
the  case  of  a  boy,  who,  though  stupid  in  every  other  respect,  still 
manifested,  in  his  twelfth  year,  an  astonishing  memory  for  numbers, 
and  a  strong  feeling  of  Benevolence  ;  which  qualities,  however, 
he  adds,  disappeared  in  proportion  as  his  malady,  hydrocephalus, 
increased. 

It  seems  difficult  to  determine  whether  this  faculty  exists  in  the 
lower  animals  or  not.  George  Le  Roy  states  from  observation, 
that  magpies  count  three  ;  while  Dupont  de  Nemours  asserts  that 
they  count  nine  :  Dr.  Gall  does  not  decide  the  question. 

The  organ  is  established. 


29. ORDER. 

Order  supposes  a  plurahty  of  objects  ;  but  one  may  have  ideas 
about  a  number  of  things  and  their  qualities,  without  considering 
them  in  any  order  whatever.  Every  arrangement  of  external 
articles  is  not  equally  agreeable  to  the  mind ;  and  the  disposition  to 
be  delighted  with  order,  and  distressed  by  disorder,  is  not  in  pro- 
portion to  the  endowment  of  any  other  faculty.  There  are  indi- 
viduals who  are  martyrs  to  the  love  of  order,  who  are  distressed 
beyond  measure  by  the  sight  of  confusion,  and  highly  satisfied 
when  every  thing  is  well  arranged.  These  persons  have  the  organ 
in  question  large.  The  sort  of  arrangement,  however,  prompted 
by  this  faculty,  is  different  from,  although  perhaps  one  element  in, 
that  philosophical  method  which  is  the  result  of  the  perception  of 
the  relations  of  things.  The  faculty  of  which  we  here  speak,  gives 
method  and  order  in  arranging  objects,  as  they  are  physically  re- 
lated ;  but  philosophical  or  logical  inferences,  the  conception  of 


398  ORDER. 

systematizing  or  generalizing,  and  the  idea  of  classifications,  are 
formea  by  the  reflecting  faculties.  Dr.  Spurzheim  mentions,  that 
the  Sauvage  de  I'Aveyron  at  Paris,  though  an  idiot  in  a  very  high 
degree,  cannot  bear  to  see  a  chair,  or  any  other  object  out  of  its 
place  ;  and  as  soon  as  any  thing  is  deranged,  he,  without  being 
excited  to  it,  directly  replaces  it.  He  saw  also  in  Edinburgh  a 
girl,  who,  in  many  respects,  was  idiotic,  but  in  whom  the  love  of 
order  was  very  active.  She  avoided  her  brother's  apartment,  in 
consequence  of  the  confusion  which  prevailed  in  it. 

Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that  he  has  met  with  facts  which  strongly 
indicate,  that  "order"  depends  on  a  primitive  faculty;  but  that, 
on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  observing  the  organs  placed  in  the 
superciliary  ridge,  and  the  small  size  of  this  organ  in  particular,  as 
pointed  out  by  Dr.  Spurzheim,  he  has  not  been  able  to  collect  a 
sufficiency  of  determinate  facts  to  authorize  him  to  decide  on  its 
situation.* 

I  have  seen  several  instances  in  confirmation  of  this  organ.  A 
gendeman  of  this  city,  whose  mask  is  sold  as  an  illustration  of 
"  order,"  has  a  large  developement  of  it ;  and  his  perception  of 
symmetrical  arrangement  is  exceedingly  acute.  On  each  super- 
ciliary ridge  of  this  cast,  there  is  an  elevation  resembling  a  small 
pea,  which  is  frequently  mistaken  for  the  organ  ;  that,  however, 
appears  to  be  merely  a  projecting  point  of  the  frontal  bone,  to 
which  some  fibres  of  the  temporal  muscle  are  attached.  The 
developement  of  the  organ  is  indicated  by  a  great  fulness,  produc- 
ing a  square  appearance  at  the  external  angles  of  the  lower  part  of 
the  forehead.  I  have  seen  other  cases,  in  which  that  part  of  the 
brain  was  very  small,  and  the  love  of  order  was  extremely  deficient. 
On  the  whole,  therefore,  I  am  disposed  to  admit  the  organ  as 
ascertained.  The  organ  is  large  in  the  mask  marked  "  French  M. 
D.,"  in  Douglas,  and  in  Humboldt,  brother  of  the  traveller,  and 
small  in  Anne  Ormerod. 

*  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau,  torn.  iv.  p.  467. 


EVENTUALITY.  399 


30. EVENTUALITY. 

This  organ,  when  large,  gives  prominence  or  rounded  fulness 
to  the  middle  of  the  forehead. 

Pitt.  Moore.  Sheridan. 


22.  Individuality  moderate.        29.  Individuality  large.  22.  Individuality  large. 

30.  Eventuality  large.  30.  Eventuality  small.  30.  Eventuality  large,  and 

34.  Comparison  rather  large.       34.  Comparison  very  large.    34.  Comparison  full. 

After  Dr.  Gall  had  discovered  an  external  sign  of  the  talent 
for  learning  by  heart,  he  was  not  long  in  perceiving  that  it  by  no 
means  indicated  every  species  of  memory.  He  observed,  that, 
among  his  school-fellows,  some  excelled  in  verbal  memory,  and 
remembered  even  words  which  they  did  not  understand ;  while 
others  were  deficient  in  this  qualification,  but  recollected  with 
uncommon  facility  facts  and  events;  that  some  were  distinguished 
by  a  great  memory  of  places  ;  some  were  able  to  repeat,  without 
mistake,  a  piece  of  music  which  they  had  heard  only  once  or  twice, 
while  others  excelled  in  recollecting  numbers  and  dates  ;  but  no 
individual  possessed  all  of  these  talents  combined  in  himself. 
Subsequently  to  these  observations,  he  learned  that  philosophers 
before  him  had  arrived  at  similar  conclusions,  and  had  distinguished 
three  varieties  of  memory, — memory  of  things,  ^'■memoria  realisf 
verbal  memory,  '■'■memoria  verbalis;^'  and  memory  of  places, 
"  memoria  localis.''^  In  society,  he  observed  persons  who,  though 
not  always  profound,  were  learned,  had  a  superficial  knovi'ledge  of  all 
the  arts  and  sciences,  and  knew  enough  to  be  capable  of  speaking 
on  them  with  facility;  and  he  found  in  them  the  middle  of  the  lower 
part  of  the  forehead  very  much  developed.  At  first  he  regarded 
this  as  the  organ  of  the  "memory  of  things;"  but,  on  farther  reflec- 


400  EVENTUALITY. 

tion,  he  perceived,  that  the  name  "  memory  of  things"  does  not 
include  the  whole  sphere  of  activity  of  the  organ  now  under  con- 
sideration. He  observed,  that  persons  who  had  this  part  of  the 
brain  large,  possessed  not  only  a  great  memory  for  facts,  but  were 
distinguished  by  prompt  conception  in  general,  and  an  extreme 
facility  of  apprehension;  a  strong  desire  for  information  and  instruc- 
tion; a  disposition  to  study  all  branches  of  knowledge,  and  to  teach 
these  to  others  ;  and  also,  that,  if  not  restrained  by  the  higher 
faculties,  such  persons  were  naturally  prone  to  adopt  the  opinions 
of  others,  to  embrace  new  doctrines,  and  to  modify  their  own 
minds  according  to  the  manners,  customs,  and  circumstances  with 
which  they  were  surrounded.  He  therefore  rejected  the  name, 
"  memory  of  things,"  and  he  adopted  the  appellations  "  Sens  des 
choses,  sens  d'educabilite,  de  pcrfectibilite ;"  to  distinguish  this 
faculty. 

These  observations  of  Dr.  Gall  apply  chiefly  to  the  part  of  the 
brain  now  designated  by  Eventuality;  he  did  not  treat  of  Individu- 
ality as  a  separate  organ;  and  in  his  plates  it  is  left  without  mark  or 
number. 

The  function  of  this  faculty  is  to  take  cognizance  of  motion 
or  active  phenomena,  indicated  by  verbs.  In  such  expressions  as 
the  ROCK  falls,  the  horse  gallops-,  the  battle  is  fought,  the  sub- 
stantive springs  from  Individuality,  and  the  verb  from  Eventuality. 
It  prompts  to  investigation  by  experiment,  while  Individuality  leads 
to  observation.  Individuality  gives  the  tendency  to  personify 
abstract  ideas,  such  as  Ignorance  or  Wisdom  ;  and  Eventuality  to 
represent  them,  as  acting.  In  a  work  written  by  an  author  with 
whom  I  was  acquainted,  and  in  v/hom  both  of  these  organs  were 
large.  Ignorance  and  Common-sense  were  represented  as  person- 
ages who  addressed  the  people,  excited  them  to  action,  and 
themselves  performed  a  variety  of  parts;  Ignorance  "  stole  a  march 
on  Common-sense,"  who  by  dexterous  expedients  extricated  him- 
self from  the  difficulty.  An  author  in  whom  Individuality  is  large 
and  Eventuality  small,  will  treat  his  subjects  by  description  chiefly; 
and  one  in  whom  Eventuality  is  large  and  Individuality  small,  will 
narrate  actions, 


EVENTUALITY.  401 

Sheridan  possessed  both  organs  large,  with  those  of  Size  and 
Locality  amply  developed ;  and  the  following  passage  affords  an 
example  of  the  prominence  which  the  physical  appearances  of 
objects  obtain  in  his  composition.  Speaking  of  a  woman  and  her 
husband,  he  says,  "  Her  fat  arms  are  strangled  with  bracelets, 
which  belt  them  like  corded  brawn. — You  wish  to  draw  her  out  as 
you  would  an  opera-glass. — A  long  lean  man,  with  all  his  arms 
rambling,  no  way  to  reduce  him  to  compass,  unless  you  could 
double  him  up  like  a  pocket  rule. — With  his  arms  spread  he'd  lie 
on  the  bed  of  ware,  like  a  cross  on  a  Good  Friday  bun. — If  he 
stands  cross-legged,  he  looks  like  a  caduceus,  and  put  him  in  a 
fencing  attitude,  you  would  take  him  for  a  chevau-de-frise, — to 
make  any  use  of  him,  it  must  be  as  a  spontoon  or  a  fishing-rod. — 
When  his  wife  's  by,  he  follows  like  a  note  of  admiration. — See 
them  together,  one  's  a  mast,  and  the  other  all  hulk, — she  's  a  dome, 
and  he  's  built  like  a  glass-housej — when  they  part,  you  wonder  to 
see  the  steeple  separate  from  the  chancel,  and  were  they  to  em- 
brace, he  must  hang  round  her  neck  like  a  skein  of  thread  on  a 
lacemaker's  bolster  ;  to  sing  her  praise,  you  should  choose  a  ron- 
deau, and  to  celebrate  him  you  must  write  all  alexandrines." 

In  the  busts  and  portraits  of  Pope,  Individuality  is  greatly  infe- 
rior in  dimensions  to  Eventuality;  and  this  author  rarely  excels  in 
describing  physical  appearances,  while  he  surpasses  in  represent- 
ing action.  The  following  lines  from  the  Rape  of  the  Lock  are 
intended  to  describe  a  beautiful  lady;  but  it  will  be  observed  that 
they  represent  action,  condition,  and  quality,  almost  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  substantive  existence,  with  its  attributes  of  form,  color,  size, 
and  proportion.* 

"  Not  with  more  glories  in  the  etherial  plain, 
The  sun  first  rises  o'er  the  purpled  main, 
Than,  issuing  forth,  the  rival  of  his  beams 
Launched  on  the  bosom  of  the  silver  Thames. 
Fair  nymphs  and  well-dressed  youths  around  her  shone ; 
But  every  eye  was  fixed  on  her  alone. 

*  Some  acute  and  interesting  observations  by  Mr.  Hewett  Watson,  on  the  rela- 
tion between  the  writings  of  these  and  other  authors,  and  their  cerebral  organs, 
will  be  found  in  Nos.  24  and  25  of  the  Phrenological  Journal. 

51 


402  EVENTUALITY, 

On  her  white  breast  a  sparkling  cross  she  wore, 
Which  Jews  might  kiss,  and  infidels  adore. 
Her  lively  looks  a  sprightly  mind  disclose, 
Quick  as  her  eyes  and  as  unfixed  as  those  : 
Favors  to  none,  to  all  she  smiles  extends : 
Oft  she  rejects,  but  never  once  offends. 
Bright  as  the  sun  her  eyes  the  gazers  strike , 
And,  like  that  sun,  they  shine  on  all  alike. 
Yet  graceful  ease,  and  sweetness  void  of  pride. 
Might  hide  her  faults,  if  belles  had  faults  to  hide  : 
If  to  her  share  some  female  errors  fall. 
Look  on  her  face,  and  you  '11  forget  them  all." 

Rape  of  the  Lock. 

This  organ  is  largely  developed  in  children,  and  gives  them  an 
appetite  for  knowledge,  in  the  form  of  stories  and  narratives.  In 
practical  life,  it  chiefly  gives  the  talent  of  observing,  recollecting, 
and  describing  action  ;  in  other  words,  of  observing  the  occur- 
rences of  which  history  is  composed,  and  of  telling  the  story  of 
what  we  know.  When  deficient,  great  difficulty  is  experienced  in 
observing,  recollecting,  and  describing  active  phenomena.  Such 
a  person  may  have  his  head  filled  with  general  impressions  of 
conversations,  without  any  precise  ideas  of  the  topics  discussed ; 
so  that  when  he  shall  attempt  to  report  what  he  has  heard,  he  will 
discover  that  he  cannot  do  so,  from  knowing  no  part  of  it  distinctly. 

When  the  organ  is  large,  the  individual  will  remember  the  pre- 
cise statements  of  an  author,  whose  works  he  has  read ;  when 
small,  he  will  recollect  only  the  general  import. 

If  Eventuality  be  large,  and  Concentrativeness  deficient,  the 
qualities  of  observation  and  narration  may  be  possessed,  but  the 
narrative  will  resemble  a  description  of  figures  in  a  carnival ;  it  will 
be  full  of  hfe,  action,  and  incident,  but  deficient  in  onward  con- 
tinuity; with  Concentrativeness  large,  the  story  would  more  nearly 
resemble  a  regular  drama. 

If  Individuality  be  large,  physical  substances  may  be  remem- 
bered vividly  by  it,  their  relations  by  Locality,  and  their  causes 
and  effects  by  Causality;  but  if  Eventuality  be  deficient,  extreme 
difficulty  will  be  experienced  in  bringing  together  these  items  of 
information,  and  presenting  them  in  the  form  of  a  natural  narrative.  . 


EVENTUALITY.  403 

A  person  in  whom  this  combination  exists,  and  in  whom  Con- 
centrativeness  is  large,  will  feel  strongly  the  desire  of  communi- 
cating the  quality  of  continuity  to  his  narrative,  and  on  important 
occasions  he  will  produce  it  by  laboriously  writing  down  all  the 
elementary  ideas  of  his  subject,  by  transposing  them,  by  filling  up, 
and  striking  out  parts,  until  the.  whole  shall  cohere  with  neatness 
and  consistency.  Such  a  combination  will  fit  its  possessor  for 
studying  physical  more  successfully  than  moral  science  ;  because 
action  is  the  primary  element  of  the  latter. 

If  Concentrativeness  and  Eventuality  be  both  deficient,  the  liter- 
ary or  philosophical  productions  of  the  individual  will  be  marked 
by  omissions  of  important  intermediate  ideas  ;  in  oral  discourses 
he  will  combine  description  with  inference,  without  taking  suffi- 
cient notice  of  modes  of  action ;  he  will  often  wander  from  his 
subject ;  and,  in  short,  he  will  display  great  knowledge  of  objects 
which  exist,  together  with  profound  reflection  on  their  relations, 
and  yet  be  unsuccessful  in  conveying  to  the  minds  of  his  readers 
or  auditors  philosophical  convictions,  similar  to  those  which  exist 
in  his  own  mind  ;  and  this  will  be  owing  chiefly  to  deficiency  in 
the  power  of  representing  by  Eventuality  modes  of  action,  and  of 
giving,  by  Concentrativeness,  continuity  to  the  thread  of  his  dis- 
courses. 

Individuality,  Eventuality,  and  Concentrativeness,  are  indispens- 
able quaUties  to  a  successful  teacher.  I  have  never  seen  a  person 
capable  of  interesting  children  and  exciting  their  intellects,  who 
was  deficient  in  both  the  first  and  second.  His  manner  of  com- 
municating knowledge  is  then  vague,  abstract  and  dry,  altogether 
unsuited  to  their  mental  condition.  These  three  organs  large, 
combined  with  large  Philoprogenitiveness,  Benevolence,  and  Con- 
scientiousness, and  an  active  temperament,  constitute  the  leading 
elements  of  a  good  teacher. 

When  both  Individuality  and  Eventuality  are  large,  the  indi- 
vidual possesses  two  important  qualities  for  general  business. 
They  confer  that  readiness  of  observation  and  talent  for  detail, 
which  are  essential  to  the  management  of  affairs.  The  lawyer  so 
endowed  is  enabled  readily  to  apprehend  the  details  of  his  cases, 


404  EVENTUALITY. 

easily  to  recollect  the  principles  of  law,  the  dicta  of  legal  authors, 
and  the  decisions  of  courts,  as  matters  of  fact  ;  and  to  reproduce 
the  whole  in  a  connected  narrative  before  a  judge  or  jury.  His 
power  of  applying  principles  to  new  cases,  depends  on  the  reflect- 
ing faculties  ;  but  although  these  be  powerful,  yet,  if  Individuality 
and  Eventuality  be  deficient,  he  may  feel  great  difficulty  in  prepar- 
ation, and  in  the  reproduction  of  his  ideas.  In  point  of  fact,  the 
most  eminent  practical  lawyers,  particularly  in  England,  are  dis- 
tinguished by  a  great  developement  of  these  organs  ;  which  are 
equally  necessary  to  the  public  speaker,  to  give  him  a  command 
over  the  materiel  or  details  of  his  subject,  and  to  enable  him  to  set 
it  forth  clearly  and  naturally  to  his  audience.  I  have  observed 
them  large  also  in  practical  physicians  ;  for,  in  the  profession 
of  medicine,  prompt  and  accurate  observation  is  one  important 
element  in  excellence. 

Both  organs  are  large  in  authors  who  acutely  observe  objects 
that  exist,  and  also  life,  manners,  and  occurrences,  such  as  Le 
Sage,  De  Foe,  and  the  Author  of  Waverley.  They  are  essential 
to  the  composition  of  such  works  as  Robinson  Crusoe  and  Gulli- 
ver's Travels,  in  which  a  strong  impression  of  reality  is  produced 
by  a  minute  description  of  particular  objects  and  actions.  In  a 
mask  preserved  in  Dublin,  and  said  to  be  that  of  Swift,  the  organs 
appear  very  large. 

When  both  organs  are  small,  the  individual  will  retain  only 
general  ideas,  and  will  experience  great  difficulty  in  becoming 
learned ;  he  may  see,  hear  or  read  many  facts,  but  they  will  make 
only  a  faint  impression,  and  soon  escape  from  his  mind ;  he  will 
feel  great  difficulty  in  commanding,  without  previous  preparation, 
even  the  knowledge  which  he  possesses. 

These  faculties  desire  only  to  know  existence  and  facts,  and  do 
not  reason  or  trace  relations.  Hence  a  person  in  whom  they  are 
strong,  and  in  whom  the  reasoning  powers  are  deficient,  gains  his 
knowledge  by  questioning  and  observation.  If  we  tell,  him  two 
facts,  which  clearly  imply  a  third,  he  will  not  naturally  endeavor 
to  find  it  out  by  his  own  suggestion,  but  will  instantly  put  another 
question.       Hence,    also,  the    tendency  of  these   faculties   is   to 


EVENTUALITY.  >  405 

recollect  facts,  according  as  they  ocqur,  and  not  according  to  any 
philosophical  relations  between  them.  Mrs^  Quickly's  speech 
to  Falstaff  is  a  beautiful  illustration  of  this  kind  of  understanding. 
She  is  reminding  him  of  his  promise  of  marriage,  and  says, 
"  Thou  didst  swear  to  me  on  a  parcel-gilt  goblet,  sitting  in  my 
dolphin-chamber,  at  the  round-table,  by  a  sea-coal  fire,  on 
Wednesday  in  Whitsun-ioeek,  ichen  the  Prince  broke  thy  head 
for  likening  his  father  to  a  singing  man  of  Windsor  ;  thou  didst 
swear  to  me  then,  as  I  was  ivashing  thy  wound,  to  marry  me,  and 
make  me  my  lady  thy  wife.  Canst  thou  deny  it }  Did  not  good- 
wife  Keech,  the  butcher's  loife,  come  in  then,  and  call  me  Gossip 
Quickly?  coming  in  to  borrow  a  mess  of  vinegar ;  telling  us,  she 
had  a  good  dish  of  praions;  whereby  thou  didst  desire  to  eat  some; 
icherehy  I  told  thee,  they  icere_  ill  for  a  green  toound ;  and  didst 
not  thou,  when  she  was  gone  down  stairs,  desire  me  to  be  no  more 
so  familiarity  with  such  poor  people,  saying,  that  ere-long,  they 
should  call  me  Madam  ?  And  didst  thou  not  kiss  me,  and  bid 
me  fetch  thee  thirty  shillings  9  I  put  thee  now  to  thy  book-oath; 
deny  it  if  thou  canst."*  Here  is  a  surprising  variety  of  trivial 
circumstances,  connected  by  no  link  but  that  of  the  order  of  their 
occurrence.-  Yet  every  one  must  perceive,  that  they  have  an 
effect  in  producing  the  impression  of  reality  on  the  mind.  We 
feel  it  impossible  to  doubt  the  promise,  which  is  substantiated 
by  so  particular  a  detail  of  facts,  every  one  of  which,  indeed, 
becomes,  as  it  were,  a  witness  to  its  truth. 

Dr.  Spurzheim,  in  treating  of  Eventuality,  says,  "  This  faculty 
recognises  the  activity  of  every  other,  whether  external  or  internal, 
and  acts  in  its  turn  upon  all  of  them.  It  desires  to  know  every 
thing  by  experience,  and  consequently  excites  all  the  other  organs  to 
activity;  it  would  hear,  see,  smell,  taste,  and  touch;  is  fond  of  gen- 
eral instruction,  and  inclines  to  the  pursuit  of  practical  knowledge. 
It  is  essential  to  editors,  secretaries,  historians  and  teachers.  By 
knowing  the  functions  of  the  other  powers,  this  faculty  contributes 
essentially  to  the  unity  of  Consciousness.  It  seems  to  perceive 
the  impressions,  which  are  the  immediate  functions  of  the  external 
*  Second  Part  of  King  Henry  IV.  Act  ii.  scene  2. 


406  ~  EVENTUALITY. 

senses,  and  to  change  these  into  notions  or  ideas.  Moreover,  it 
appears  to  be  essential  to  attention  in  general,  and  to  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  entity  myself  in  philosophy.  Its  sphere  of  activity  is 
very  great,  and  every  philosophic  system  has  taken  account  of 
some  of  its  operations."* 

Dr.  Gall  regarded  the  part  of  the  brain  here  named  Eventuality, 
as  the  organ  of  "the  sense"  of  things  in  man,  and  of  educabiUty 
or  perfectibility,  in  the  lower  animals.  While  he  admits  that 
every  faculty  is  susceptible  of  improvement  by  education,  he  forms 
a  scale  of  the  heads  of  animals,  from  the  crocodile  and  frog  up  to 
man,  with  the  view  of  proving,  that  the  more  this  part  of  the  brain 
is  developed  in  each  species,  the  higher  are  its  natural  susceptibili- 
ties of  being  tamed  and  taught.  Camper  and  Lavater,  he  adds, 
had  made  similar  observations  ;  but  they  did  not  distinguish  special 
faculties  and  organs.  Dr.  Spurzheim  acknowledges  the  correct- 
ness of  the  facts  stated  by  Dr.  Gall,  that  tame  animals  have  fuller 
foreheads  than  wild  ones,  and  that  animals  are  generally  tameable, 
in  proportion  to  the  developement  of  their  foreheads ;  but  con- 
ceives, that  Dr.  Gall  attributes  to  a  single  faculty,  manifestations 
which  depend  on  intellect  generally.  Eventuality  does  not  fill 
the  whole  forehead ;  and  the  other  organs,  situated  there,  also 
contribute  to  the  effects  observed  by  Dr.  Gall.  The  observation 
of  the  latter,  therefore,  is  deficient  in  precision,  rather  than  in 
truth.  Dr.  Gall  regarded  the  organ  of  Benevolence,  in  the  lower 
animals,  as  the  source  of  gentleness  of  disposition,  and  described 
it  as  situated  in  them  in  the  middle  of  the  upper  part  of  the  fore- 
head. The  organ  of  Educability,  which  is  distinct,  he  says,  is 
situated  in  the  middle  of  the  lower  part  of  the  forehead. 

The  older  metaphysicians  do  not  treat  of  any  faculty  distinctly 
analogous  to  Eventuality ;  but  Dr.  Thomas  Brown, f  whose  acute- 
ness  I  have  so  often  praised,  admits  a  power  of  the  mind  under 
the  name  of  "  Simple  Suggestion,  "  which  corresponds  very 
closely  with  it ;  and  he  reduces  Conception  and  Memory  of  the 
rhetaphysicians  to  this  principle  of  Simple  Suggestion. — The 
organ  is  established. 

*  Phrenology,  p.  323.  t  Lectures,  vol.  ii.  p.  192 


407 


31. TIME. 

The  power  of  conceiving  Time,  and  of  remembering  circum- 
stances connected  by  no  link,  but  the  relation  in  which  they  stand 
to  each  other  in  chronology,  and  also  the  power  of  observing 
time  in  performing  music,  is  very  different  in  different  individuals. 
Many  observations  have  been  made  on  this  organ ;  and  it  is  now 
ascertained.  The  special  faculty  seems  to  be  the  power  of  judg- 
ing of  time,  and  of  intervals  in  general.  By  giving  the  perception 
of  measured  cadence,  it  appears  to  be  one  source  of  pleasure  in 
dancing.     It  is  essential  to  music  and  versification. 

Mr.  Simpson,  in  an  excellent  essay  on  this  faculty,  published  in 
the  Phrenological  Journal,*  states,  that  "  We  have  found  the  organ 
largely  developed  in  those  who  show  an  intuitive  knowledge  of  the- 
lapse  of  minutes  and  hours,  so  as  to  name  the  time  of  the  day, 
without  having  recourse  to  the  clock;  and  also  in  those  who 
perceive  those  minuter  divisions,  and  their  harmonious  relations, 
which  constitute  rhythm,  and  who,  when  they  apply  the  tact  to 
music,  are  called  good  timists, — a  distinct  power  from  that  of  the 
mere  melodist,  and  often  wanting  in  him ;  while  it  is  matter  of  the 
commonest  observation,  on  the  other  hand,  that  this  sensibility  to 
rhythm,  called  Time,  is  marked  in  those  who  have  a  very  mode- 
rate perception  of  melody.  Such  persons  are  invariably  accurate 
dancers,  observing  delicately  the  time,  though  indifferent  to  the 
melody  of  the  violin.  We  have  made  many  observations,  both  in 
persons  who  have  both  Time  and  Tune  large,  and  in  those  who 
have  only  one  of  them  in  large  endowment,  and  we  have  never 
found  the  manifestations  fail.  Very  lately  we  were  struck  with 
the  uncommon  prominence  of  the  organ  of  Time  in  a  whole  family 
of  young  people,  and  inquired  whether  or  not  they  danced  with 
accuracy,  and  loved  dancing  ?  We  were  answered,  that  they  did 
both  in  a  remarkable  degree ;  and,  as  we  lived  near  them  for 
some  weeks,  we  observed  that  dancing  was  a  constant  and  favor- 
ite pastime  of  theirs,  even  out  of  doors.  Their  dancing-master 
*  Vol.  ii.  p.  134. 


408  TIME. 

informed  us,  that  the  accuracy  of  their  time  exceeded  that  of  any 
pupils  he  had  ever  taught.  There  was  thus  evident  in  these  young 
persons  an  intense  pleasure  in  accurate  rhythmical  movements." 

The  fact  that  many  Deaf  and  Dumb  persons  dance  with  pre- 
cision, and  much  pleasure,  is  thus  accounted  for  by  Mr.  Simpson. 
"That  Time,"  says  he,  "  may  be  marked  with  the  utmost  precis- 
ion to  the  eye,  is  a  fact  familiar  to  every  one  who  has  seen  a  regi- 
ment of  soldiers  go  through  the  manual  and  platoon  exercise,  with- 
out a  single  word  of  command,  by  obeying  the  movements  of  the 
fugle-man,  who  gives  the  time  to  the  eye ;  and  who  that  has  seen 
this  done  by  a  practised  corps,  is  ignorant  that  there  is  great  pleas- 
ure in  witnessing  the  exquisitely  timed  movements  of  the  exercise.'' 
Now,  suppose  a  dancer,  unaided  by  music,  were  to  keep  his  eye 
on  any  person  or  object  which  was  marking  dancing-time  to  his 
sight,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  he  could  dance  to  it.  A  deaf 
person  could  perform  the  manual  exercise  from  the  time  given  by 
the  fugle-man  ;  and  just  as  easily  could  a  deaf  person  dance  with 
his  eye  upon  the  violin-bow,  or  the  player's  arm,  or  on  the  move- 
ment of  the  drumsticks. 

"It  is  unnecessary  to  go  farther,  and  show  that  the  sense  of 
touch  may  be  the  channel  through  which  the  organ  of  Time  is 
excited,  as  well  as  the  sense  of  hearing  and  sight.  No  one  will 
dispute  that  a  soldier  could  perform  the  manual  exercise  to  a 
succession  of  taps  on  the  shoulder ;  and  to  time,  in  the  same  way 
given,  might  a  person  dance. 

"  What  we  have  said  is  confirmed  by  fact.  It  is  well  known  that 
the  deaf  and  dumb  do  dance,  taking  the  time  by  the  eye,  either 
from  the  violin-player's  arm,  or  at  second  hand,  but  instantane- 
ously from  the  other  dancers.  We  are  acquainted  with  a  young 
lady  and  gentleman  in  England,  both  of  rank,  who  are  deaf  and 
dumb,  and  who,  in  addition  to  many  other  accomplishments,  dance 
with  the  greatest  grace  and  precision." — See  also  Phren.  Journal, 
vol.  iv.  p.  509. 

The  origin  of  the  notion  of  Time  has  gready  puzzled  the  meta- 
physicians. Lord  Kames  says,  that  we  measure  it  by  the  number 
of  ideas  which  pass  in  the  mind  ;  but  experience  contradicts  this 


TUNE.  409 

supposition,  for  time  never  appears  so  short  as  when  ideas  are, 
most  numerous,  and  pass  most  rapidly  through  the  mind.  The 
idea,  that  it  depends  on  a  separate  faculty  and  organ,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  in  harmony  with  this  fact  ;  for,  as  the  organ  of  Time  may 
remain  inactive,  while  the  others  are  vividly  excited,  it  follows, 
that  our  perceptions  of  duration  will,  on  such  occasions,  be  indis- 
tinct, and  time  will,  in  consequence,  appear  brief. 

The  talent  of  using  tenses  properly  in  composition  appears  to 
depend  on  this  organ.     Probable. 

32. TUNE. 

Dr.  Gall  mentions,  that  a  girl  named  Bianchi,  of  about  five 
years  of  age,  was  presented  to  him,  and  he  was  asked  for  what 
talent  she  was  most  distinguished.  He  discovered  in  her  no 
indication  of  an  extraordinary  memory  ;  and  the  idea  had  not  then 
occurred  to  him,  that  the  talent  for  music  could  be  recognised  by 
the  conformation  of  the  head.  Indeed,  he  had  not  at  that  time 
ascertained  the  different  kinds  of  memory  ;  but  his  friends  never- 
theless maintained,  that  the  young  Bianchi  had  an  extraordinary 
memory  for  music,  and,  as  he  had  not  discovered  that  talent  in 
her,  they  inferred  that  the  doctrine  which  he  taught  of  external 
signs  for  different  kinds  of  memory  was  unfounded.  This  child 
repeated  whatever  she  heard  sung  or  played  on  the  piano,  and 
recollected  whole  concerts  if  she  had  heard  them  only  twice.  Dr. 
Gall  asked  if  she  learned  every  thing  by  heart  with  equal  facility, 
but  he  was  told  that  she  possessed  this  astonishing  memory  in 
music  alone.  He  concluded  that  a  well  marked  difference  exists » 
between  memory  for  music,  and  the  other  kinds  of  memory  with 
which  he  was  then  acquainted,  and  that  every  kind  has  its  distinct 
organ.  He  prosecuted  his  observations  with  fresh  ardor,  and  at 
last  discovered  that  the  talent  for  music  is  connected  with  the 
organ  now  under  discussion.  He  calls  it,  '■'■  Le  sens  des  rapports 
des  tons;  "  "  expression,"  says  Dr.  Gall,  "  qui  rattache  la 
maniere  dont  I'intellect  du  rausicien  met  en  oeuvre  les  rapports 
des  tons  a  la  maniere  d'agir  des  sens  en  general." 

52 


410  TUNE. 

The  organ  of  Tune 
the  organ  of  Color  does  to  the  eyes.  The  ear  receives  the  im- 
pressions of  sounds,  and  is  agreeably  or  disagreeably  affected  by 
them  ;  but  the  ear  has  no  recollection  of  tones,  nor  does  it  judge 
of  their  relations  ;  it  does  not  perceive  the  harmonies  of  sound  ; 
and  sounds,  as  well  as  colors,  may  be  separately  pleasing,  though 
disagreeable  in  combination.  A  friend,  in  a  letter  written  from 
India,  formerly  quoted,  says,  "Melody  is  the  pleasure  arising  from 
successions  of  simple  sounds  suited  to  each  other.  Harmony  is 
that  arising  from  combined  sounds,  or  from  several  striking  the  ear 
simultaneously,  as  in  a  band  playing  difierent  parts.  The  former  re- 
quires much  less  of  the  organ  than  the  latter;  and  hence  the  Scotch 
with  no  great  Tune  are  melodists,  but  nothing  as  musicians." 

A  correspondent  of  the  Plirenological  Journal,  vol.  viii.  p.  216, 
mentions  that  "  he  has  a  most  singular  tendency  to  compare  one 
thing  with  another;  for  instance,  if  he  hears  the  piano  played,  every 
sound  seems  to  resemble  a  particular  color,  and  so  uniform  is  this, 
that  he  thinks  he  could  almost  make  a  gamut  of  colors.  Some 
notes  are  yellow,  others  green,  others  blue,  &c."  In  him  Com- 
parison is  large,  but  neither  Coloring  nor  Tune  are  so. 

A  great  developement  of  the  organ  enlarges  the  lateral  paits  of 
the  forehead  ;  but  its  form  varies  according  to  the  direction  and 
form  of  the  convolutions.  Dr.  Spurzheim  observes,  that,  in  Gliick, 
and  others,  this  organ  had  a  pyramidal  form  ;  in  Mozart,  Viotti, 
Zumsteg,  Dussek,  Crescentini,  and  others,  the  external  corners  of 
the  forehead  are  enlarged,  but  rounded.  Great  practice  is  neces- 
sary to  be  able  to  observe  this  organ  successfully  ;  and  beginners 
should  place  together  one  person  possessing  a  genius  for  music, 
and  another  who  can  scarcely  distinguish  between  any  two  notes, 
and  mark  the  difference  of  their  heads.  The  superior  develope- 
ment of  the  former  will  be  perceptible  at  a  glance.  The  faculty 
gives  the  perception  of  melody  ;  but  this  is  only  one  ingredient  in 
a  genius  for  music.  Time  is  requisite  to  a  just  perception  of 
intervals.  Ideality  to  give  elevation  and  refinement,  Secretiveness 
and  Imitation  to  produce  expression  ;  and  Constructiveness,  Form, 
Weight,  and  Individuality,  are  requisite  besides,  to  supply  mechan- 


TUNE.  411 

ical  expertness,  necessary  to  successful  performance.  The  largest 
organ  of  Tune  will  not  enable  its  possessor  to  play  successfully  on 
the  harp,  if  Weight  be  deficient  ;  the  capacity  of  communicating  to 
the  string  the  precise  vibratory  impulse  requisite  to  produce  each 
particular  note  will  then  be  wanting. 

Dr.  Gall  mentions  that  he  had  examined  the  heads  of  the  most 
celebrated  musical  performers  and  singers,  such  as  Rosini,  Catala- 
ni,  &c.  and  found  the  organ  uniformly  large,  and  that  the  portraits 
and  busts  of  Hayden,  Gliick,  Mozart,  &c.  show  it  also  largely 
developed.  I  have  examined  the  heads  of  Madame  Catalani,  and 
many  eminent  private  musicians,  and  found  the  organ  confirmed  in 
every  instance.  Dr.  Gall  remarks  farther,  that  a  great  develope- 
raent  is  not  to  be  expected  in  every  ordinary  player  on  a  musical 
instrument.  With  a  moderate  endowment,  the  fingers  may  be 
trained  to  expertness  ;  but  when  the  soul  feels  the  inspiration  of 
harmonious  sounds,  and  the  countenance  expresses  that  voluptuous 
rapture  which  thrills  through  the  frame  of  the  real  musician,  a  large 
organ  will  never  be  wanting. 

"II  me  parait,"  continues  Dr.  Gall,  "que  les  hommes  qui  sont 
capables.  de  deduire  les  lois  de  la  composition  des  lois  des  vibra- 
tions sonores,  et  des  rapports  des  tons,  et  d'etablir  ainsi  les 
principes  les  plus  generaux  de  la  musique,  doivent  etre  doues  en 
meme  temps  cVun,'  organe  des  nombres  tres  develloppe  ;  car 
I'exercise  de  ce  degre  du  talent  musical  exige,  sans  contredit, 
beaucoup  de  calcul ;  aussi  la  circonvolution  inferieure  de  1 'organe 
musical,  la  plus  large  de  toutes,  se  continue  immediatement  dans 
I'organe  des  nombres.  Ceci  explique  pourquoi  on  peut  etre 
excellent  musicien,  et  n 'avoir  pas  le  talent  de  la  composition  ;  etre 
grand  compositeur  sans  etre  en  meme  temps  grand  musicien."* 

The  heads  of  Italians  and  Germans  in  general  are  broader  and 
fuller  at  the  situation  of  this  organ  than  those  of  Negroes,  Ota- 
heitians,  Spaniards,  Frenchmen  and  Englishmen,  in  general  ;  and 
musical  talent  is  more  common  in  the  former  than  the  latter. 

Mr.   Scott  has  published   in   the    Phrenological  JournaI,f  two 

*  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau,  tome  v.  p.  190.         t  Vol.  ii.  pp.  170  and  556. 


412  TUNE. 

admirable  Essays  "on  Music,  and  the  different  faculties  which 
concur  in  producing  it,"  which  will  be  found  highly  deserving  of 
attention.  He  conceives  Tune  to  be  the  primitive  faculty  which 
•distinguishes,  "  1st,  That  agreement  of  component  vibrations  in 
simple  sounds,  which  constitutes  them  musical;  2d,  That  relation  in 
separate  sounds  emitted  together,  which  constitutes  harmony;  and, 
Sd,  That  relation  in  successive  notes,  which  constitutes  melody." 
He  then  considers  the  auxiliary  faculties  requisite  to  the  practical 
musician  (.namdy  those  before  enumerated,)  and  points  out  the 
effect  of  each  in  conducing  to  musical  genius.  "  Imitation,"  says 
he,  "is  necessary,  particularly  to  the  vocal  performer,  to  enable 
him  to  imitate  the  sounds  he  hears,  and  to  give,  by  his  own  vocal 
organs,  a  correct  copy  of  the  music  which  he  wishes  to  execute. 
Accordingly,  it  is  matter  of  observation,  that  all  singers  who  sing 
naturally  and  easily,  possess  a  considerable  organ  of  Imitation." 
He  then  enters,  at  considerable  length,  into  the  subject  of  musical 
expression.  "  It  seems  to  me,"  says  he,  "although  I  do  not  pre- 
tend to  have  made  observations  sufficiently  accurate  and  numerous 
to  prove  the  fact,  that  there  is  a  correspondence  in  all  cases 
between  the  voices  of  men  and  women,  and  their  cerebral  devel- 
opement.  The  subject  is  a  very  curious  one,  and  I  mention  it 
more  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  others  to  make  observations,  than 
from  any  value  I  attach  to  any  observations  of  my  own.  Some 
facts  there  are,  however,  which  are  matters  of  common  notoriety, 
and  which  go  far  to  prove  that  there  is  at  least  a  general  correspon- 
dence; and  further  light  might,  doubtless,  be  thrown  upon  it,  by 
more  accurate  and  minute  observers. 

"  In  the  first  place,  it  is  a  general  rule,  that  the  heads  of  women 
are  comparatively  smaller  than  those  of  men,  and  that  their  voices 
are,  in  a  corresponding  degree,  smaller  and  shriller  than  the  male 
voice. 

"  Boys  under  puberty,  who  have  smaller  heads  than  full  grown 
men,  have  voices  small,  slirill,  and  soft,  like  a  woman's. 

"The  voices  of  children  of  both  sexes, , but  particulai-ly  girls, 
are  shriller  than  even  the  aduh  female  voice. 


TUNE,  413 

"  As  boys  advance  from  puberty  to  manhood,  and  just  at  the 
time  when  the  head  is  receiving  the  largest  accessions,  the  voice  is 
changed  from  the  small  shrill  pipe  of  the  boy  to  the  grave  tones  of 
the  man. 

"  In  men  who  have  small  or  moderately-sized  heads,  particu- 
larly if  the  lower  propensities  are  moderately  developed,  the  voice 
approaches  to  the  shrill  pitch  and  softness  of  a  woman's. 

"  In  women  who  have  large  heads,  particularly  if  the  lower  pro- 
pensities are  fully  developed,  the  voice  is  generally  grave,  and 
approaches  in  its  tones  to  a  man's.  I  have  been  informed,  that  it 
has  been  observed  of  women  who  are  subject  to  nymphomania, 
that,  when  under  the  influence  of  a  paroxysm,  their  voices  are 
harsh,  low,  and  rough,  like  those  of  men.  This  fact,  if  sufficiently 
established,  would  go  far  to  prove,  that  low  and  rough  notes  are 
the  natural  language  of  the  lower  propensities. 

"  So  far  I  have  observed  in  general;  but  I  would  wish  that  those 
who  have  an  opportunity  would  make  observations  which  may 
confirm  the  above,  or  show  whether  there  are  any  exceptions  to 
the  rule.  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  seen  any.  It  would  be 
desirable  to  ascertain,  whether  all  the  bass-singers  in  our  bands  and 
choirs  have  large  heads,  and  the  counter-tenors  among  men  small 
ones ;  or  whether  the  depth  of  voice  is  in  proportion  to  the  devel- 
opement  of  the  cerebellum  ; — whether  the  women  singers,  whose 
voices  are  pitched  low,  have  larger  heads,  or  a  fuller  endowment 
of  the  lower  propensities,  than  those  who  have  treble  voices. 

"  It  is  undoubted,  that  the  quality  of  tone,  as  well  as  the  pitch, 
depends  considerably  on  the  nature  of  the  developement.  In 
women  who  possess  Combativeness  and  Destructiveness  well  de- 
veloped, the  voice,  though  shrill,  is  sharp,  and  the  tones  pierce 
the  ear  like  a  sword.  In  women  who  are  given  to  scolding,  this 
sharp  piercing  quality  of  voice  will  invariably  be  noticed  ;  and  it 
forms  one  of  the  most  unpleasant  circumstances  attending  it.  If 
the  lady  would  utter  the  same  words  in  a  moderate  tone,  the  nui- 
sance would  not  be  nearly  so  great.  In  like  manner,  in  men  who 
have  large  Destructiveness,  if  the  head  is  otherwise  large  and  well- 


414  TUNE. 

balanced,  the  voice,  though  grave,  will  be  clear,  and  have  a  pecu- 
liar edge  and  sharpness,  which  Destructiveness  alone  seems  to  give. 

"When  the  head  is  in  general  large,  but  Destructiveness  defi- 
cient, the  voice  will  probably  be  grave  and  full,  but  soft,  and  will 
want  the  sharp  ringing  quality  which  Destructiveness  confers. 
This  is  a-  voice,  from  its  rarity,  much  in  request  among  singers, 
and  is  called  a  veiled  voice  (voce  velata.)  Madame  Marconi,  who 
sung  at  the  first  Edinburgh  Festival,  had  a  voice  of  this  description. 
She  was  said  to  have  been  remarkable  for  good-nature. 

"  In  those  in  whom  intellect  predominates,  the  voice  has  a  calm 
and  composed,  but  not  a  touching  e!xpression.  When  Benevo- 
lence, and  the  kindly  and  social  affections  are  large,  and  when 
Tune,  Imitation,  and  Ideality,  are  at  the  same  time  large,  the  voice 
has  a  degree  of  bewitching  softness,  as  may  be  observed  in  the 
case  of  Miss  Stephens  or  Miss  Tree.  But  there  occur  in  private 
life  many  instances  to  the  same  effect.  When  Benevolence  and 
the  higher  sentiments  are  both  united  in  full  proportion,  the  voice 
is  felt  to  be  peculiarly  delightful  and  harmonious.  In  men  there 
is  generally  too  much  of  the  lower  propensities  to  admit  of  this 
in  its  highest  degree ;  indeed,  these  seem  so  essential  to  a  manly 
character,  that  in  them  it  would  not  be  desirable.  But  we  have 
met  with  women  whose  every  tone  is  music,  and  whose  voices, 
even  in  ordinary  discourse,  have  about  them  a  delightfulness  which 
is  quite  irresistible,  and  which  makes  its  way  directly  to  the  heart. 
This  softness  and  sweetness  of  voice,  is  remarked  as  a  great  point 
of  female  excellence  by  King  Lear,  where  the  old  distressed 
monarch  is  enumerating  the  excellences  of  his  favorite  Cordelia, — 

'■ Her  voice  was  ever  soft, 

"  Gentle  and  low, — an  excellent  thing  in  woman."* 

These  observations  of  Mr.  Scott  are  very  interesting,  and. 
numerous  cases  have  been  observed  in  accordance  with  them ;  but 
they  are  not  absolutely  correct,  because  I  have  met  with  decided 
exceptions.     One  gentleman,  in  particular,  has  a  moderately  sized 

*  Phrenological  Journal,  vol.  ii.  p.  552 


TUNE.  416 

head,  small  cerebellum,  and  the  other  propensities  below  an  aver- 
age, whose  voice  is  nevertheless  a  deep  rich  bass.  It  is  certain 
that  the  developeraent  of  brain  has  some,  and  even  an  important 
influence  on  the  quality  of  the  voice :  but  so  have  the  lungs  and 
larynx ;  and  it  is  still  unascertained  how  much  of  the  actual  effect 
is  attributable  to  each. 

When  an  average  developement  of  Tune  is  combined  with  high 
intellectual  organs,  the  superior  objects  with  which  these  are  con- 
versant, generally  attract  the  mind,  and  music  is  little  cultivated. 
When,  on  the  other  hand,  these  are  small,  and  Ideality,  Hope, 
Benevolence,  Veneration,  and  Wonder,  which  Tune  is  particularly 
calculated  to  gratify,  are  large,  the  tendency  to  practice  music  is 
much  stronger.  Hence,  with  the  same  absolute  developement  of 
this  organ,  very  different  practical  results  may  ensue  ;  but  this  is  in 
exact  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the  science ;  for  it  is  the 
predominance  of  particular  organs  in  an  individual  that  decides  the 
bias  of  his  mind;  the  organs,  largest  in  size,  always  tending  most 
powerfully  to  seek  gratification. 

As  the  organ  of  Tune  is  frequently  developed  only  in  a  very 
moderate  degree,  and  is  sometimes  almost  entirely  defective,  it  is 
obvious  that  the  fashionable  practice  of  teaching  music  to  young 
ladies  indiscriminately,  without  regard  to  the  size  of  the  organ, 
must  be  mischievous,  absurd,  and  productive  of  misery  to  un- 
talented  pupils.  Dr.  Neil  Arnot — who  is  no  phrenologist — feel- 
ingly alludes,  in  his  Elements  of  Physics,  to  the  prejudice  which 
"in  the  present  day,  condemns  many  young  women  possessed  of 
every  species  of  loveliness  and  talent  except  that  of  note-distin- 
guishing, to  waste  years  of  precious  time  in  an  attempt  to  acquire 
this  talent  in  spite  of  nature;  and  yet,"  he  adds,  "when  they 
have  succeeded  as  far  as  they  can,  they  have  only  the  merit  of 
being  machines,  with  performance  as  little  pleasing  to  true  judges 
as  would  be  the  attempt  of  a  foreigner,  who  knew  only  the  alpha- 
bet of  a  language,  to  recite  pieces  of  expressive  poetry  in  that 
language.  Such  persons,  when  liberty  comes  to  them  by  age  or 
marriage,  generally  abandon  the  offensive  occupation ;  but  tyrant 


416  TUNE. 

fashion  will  force  their  daughters  to  run  the  same  course.  The 
waste  of  time  now  spoken  of,  is  only  one  of  the  many  evil  conse- 
quences which  arise  from  the  prevailing  false  notions  with  respect 
to  music." 

Tune  is  occasionally  found  strong  in  idiots,  and,  in  some  insane 
patients,  its  activity  remains  unimpaired  amidst  an  extensive  de- 
rangement of  the  other  faculties.  I  have  seen  two  idiots  who 
manifested  it  in  a  considerable  degree. 

The  following  case  is  reported  by  Dr.  Andrew  Combe,  which 
occurred  in  his  own  practice  : 

"A  young  lady  of  high  musical  and  intellectual  powers,  and 
of  a  very  active  mind,  and  who  has  for  some  months  past  been 
subject  to  frequent  attacks  of  hysteria  in  all  its  ever-changing 
forms,  and  who  suffers  almost  constantly  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree  from  headache,  complained  on  Saturday,  2,2d  April,  1826, 
of  feeling  acute  pain  at  the  external  angle  of  the  forehead,  precise- 
ly in  the  situation  of  the  organs  of  Tune,  which  are  largely  devel- 
oped, and  upon  which,  in  describing  the  seat  of  the  pain,  she 
placed  most  accurately  the  points  of  the  fingers.  Next  day  the 
same  complaint  of  pain  in  that  region  was  made ;  and  about  two 
hours  after  I  saw  her,  she  was  suddenly  seized  with  a  spasmodic 
or  rather  convulsive  affection  of  the  larynx,  glottis,  and  adjoining 
parts,  in  consequence  of  which  a  quick,  short,  and  somewhat 
musical  sound  was  regularly  emitted,  and  continued  with  great 
rapidity  as  if  the  breathing  had  been  very  hurried.  On  examina- 
tion externally,  the  os  hyoides  at  the  root  of  the  tongue  and  the 
thyroid  cartilages  were  seen  in  constant  motion,  and  in  the  act  of 
alternately  approximating  and  receding  from  each  other.  The  will 
was  so  far  powerful  in  controlling  this  motion,  that  the  young  lady 
was  able  to  utter  a  few  short  sentences  at  a  time  without  much 
difficulty,  interrupted,  however,  by  two  or  three  movements. 
After  this  singular  state  had  continued  for  about  two  hours,  she 
herself  remarked,  that  it  was  becoming  rather  too  musical,  and 
wished  that  it  would  cease,  which  it  did  at  the  end  of  another  half- 
hour,  from  accidental  pressure  with  the  finger  in  poniling  out  the 


TUNE.  417 

motion  to  another  person ;   she  was  then  as  well   as  usual,  only 
somewhat  fatigued. 

"  On  Monday,  24th  April,  she  still  complained  of  pain  in  the 
situation  of  the  organ  of  Tune ;  and  stated,  that  she  had  been 
dreaming  a  great  deal  of  hearing  the  finest  music  ;  that  she  felt 
quite  excited  by  it,  and  could  not  even  now  get  the  impression 
out  of  her  head.  The  day  passed  on,  however,  and  nothing 
remarkable  occurred. 

"  On  Tuesday  1  found  that  1  had  been  rather  anxiously  expect- 
ed. During  the  night  the  young  lady  had  been  tormented  with  the 
recurrence  of  the  musical  dreams,  during  which  she  heard  and 
performed  the  most  beautiful  airs,  with  a  distinctness  which  sur- 
passed those  of  the  preceding  night.  These  dreams  continued 
for  some  hours,  and  left  such  an  impression,  that  on  awaking  she 
thought  she  could  almost  note  down  one  piece  of  composition 
which  had  particularly  pleased  her.  But  what  is  very  remarkable, 
the  excessive  excitement  of  the  faculty  of  Tune  had  now  reached 
a  height  that  could  not  be  controlled  ;  the  patient  felt,  not  to  say 
a  desire  only,  but  a  strong  and  irresistible  passion  or  craving  for 
music,  which  it  was  painful  beyond  endurance  to  repress.  She 
insisted  on  getting  up,  and  being  allawed  to  play  and  sing  ;  but 
that  being  for  many  reasons  unadvisable,  she  then  begged  to  have 
a  friend  sent  for  to  play  to  her,  as  the  only  means  of  relief  from  ■ 
a  very  painful  state ;  but  shortly  after  the  craving  of  the  faculty 
became  so  intolerable,  that  she  got  hold  of  a  guitar,  lay  down 
upon  a  sofa,  and  fairly  gave  way  to  the  torrent,  and,  with  a  volume, 
clearness,  and  strength  of  voice,  and  a  facility  of  execution,  which 
would  have  astonished  any  one  who  had  seen  her  two  days  before, 
she  sung  in  accompaniment  till  her  musical  faculty  became  spent 
and  exliausted.  During  this  time  the  pain  at  the  angles  of  the 
forehead  was  still  felt,  and  was  attended  with  a  sense  of  fulness 
and  uneasiness  all  over  the  coronal  and  anterior  parts  of  the  fore- 
head. Regarding  all  these  phenomena  as  arising  from  over-excite- 
ment chiefly  of  the  organs  of  Tune,  I  directed  the  continued  local 
application  of  cold,  and  such  other  measures  as  tended  to  allay  the 
increased  action,  and  soon  after  the  young  lady  regained  her  ordi- 
53 


418  TUNE. 

nary  state,  and  has  not  since  had  any  return  of  these  extraordinary 
symptoms. 

"  In  this  case,  the  order  in  which  the  phenomena  occurred,  put 
leading  queries  on  ray  part,  or  exaggeration  or  deception  on  the 
part  of  the  patient,  alike  out  of  the  question.  The  pain  in  the  . 
organ  was  distinctly  and  repeatedly  complained  of  for  many  hours 
(at  least  36)  before  the  first  night  of  dreaming,  and  for  no  less 
than  three  days  before  the  irresistible  waking  inspiration  was  felt. 
When  my  attention  was  first  drawn  to  the  existence  of  the  pain,  I 
imagined  it  to  arise  from  an  affection  of  the  membranes  covering 
that  part  of  the  brain,  and  had  no  conception  that  it  was  to  termin- 
ate in  any  such  musical  exhibition  as  afterwards  took  place  ;  and, 
in  fact,  although  the  young  lady  had  mentioned  her  previous  melo- 
dious dreams,  my  surprise  was  quite  equal  to,  although,  thanks  to 
Phrenology,  my  alarm  was  not  so  great  as,  that  of  her  relations, 
when,  on  entering  the  house  on  the  morning  of  Tuesday,  the  2$th, 
I  heard  the  sound  of  the  guitar  mingling  with  the  full  and  harmo- 
nious swell  of  her  own  voice,  such  as  it  might  show  itself  when  in 
the  enjoyment  of  the  highest  health  and  vigor." 

Dr.  Spurzheim  mentions,  that  the  heads  and  skulls  of  birds 
which  sing,  and  of  those  which  do  not  sing,  and  the  heads  of  the 
different  individuals  of  the  same  kind,  which  have  a  greater  or  less 
disposition  to  sing,  present  a  conspicuous  difference  at  the  place 
of  this  organ.  The  heads  of  males,  for  instance,  and  those  of 
females  of  the  same  kind  of  singing  birds,  are  easily  distinguished 
by  their  different  developement.  The  organ  is  large  in  Haydn, 
Macvicar ;  small  in  Sloane,  and  remarkably  deficient  in  Ann 
Ormerod.  This  girl  was  admitted,  at  twelve  yeai's  of  age,  into 
the  asylum  for  the  blind  at  Liverpool,  and  during  two  years,  means 
were  unsparingly  employed  to  cultivate  and  improve  any  musical 
talent  which  she  might  possess,  but  "  with  such  decided  want  of 
success,  that  her  teachers,  Mr.  Handford  and  Mr.  Piatt,  men  of 
unceasing  perseverance,  and  constantly  accustomed  to  the  mo.st 
stubborn  perverseness,  were  at  last  under  the  necessity  of  abandon- 
ing the  attempt  altogether." — Phren.  Journ.  vol.  ii.  p.  642.  The 
figure  represents  her  head,  the  organ  of  Tune  being  thrown  into 


LANGUAGE. 


419 


ihe  outline  on  her  left  side,  and  the  head  of  Handel,  the  organ 
being  brought  into  line  on  his  right  side.     Established. 


Handel. 


Ann  Ormerod. 


Tune  large. 


Tune  very 


33. LANGUAGE. 

The  history  of  the  discovery  of  this  organ  has  already  been 
given  in  the  introduction,  page  44. 

A  large  developement  of  this  organ  is  indicated  by  the  promin- 
ence and  depression  of  the  eyes,  this  appearance  being  produced 
by  convolutions  of  the  brain,  situated  in  the  posterior  and  transverse 
part  of  the  upper  orbitary  plate,  pressing  the  latter,  and  with  it  the 
eyes,  more  or  less  forward,  downward  or  outward,  according  to 
the  size  of  the  convolutions.  If  the  fibres  be  long,  they  push  the 
eye  as  far  forward  as  the  eyebrows ;  if  they  are  only  thick,  theiy 
push  them  toward  the  outer  angle  of  the  orbit,  and  downwards.* 
When  the  knowing  organs  are  very  large,  and  the  eyebrows  project, 
the  eyes  may  appear  less  prominent  than  they  really  are.  The 
projection  of  the  eyes  over  the  cheek-bone,  and  their  depression 
downwards,  are  the  proper  signs  of  the  organs  being  large. 

The  functions  of  this  organ  will  be  understood  by  a  short  elu- 
cidation. The  different  faculties  being  active,  produce  desires, 
emotions,  and  intellectual  conceptions.  The  mind  wishing  to 
communicate  a  knowledge  of  these  to  other  individuals,  can  accom- 
pUsh  this  end  only  by  making  signs  expressive  of  their  existence. 
These  signs  may  consist  of  the  peculiar  gestures,  looks,  and  cries, 


*  The  organ  of  Form  produces  only  distance  between  the  eyes  ;  without  render- 
ing them  prominent,  or  pushing  them  downward. 


420  LANGUAGE. 

that  naturally  accompany  the  activity  of  the  several  faculties,  and 
which  being  part  of  our  constitution,  are  universally  understood, 
and  constitute  what  is  termed  natural  Language  ;  for  example, 
nature  has" formed  an  association  betwixt  the  external  appearance 
of  misery,  and  the  faculty  of  Benevolence,  so  that,  on  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  appearance,  the  faculty  starts  into  activity,  and 
generates  the  emotion  of  pity  :  She  has  associated  the  faculty 
of  Wit  with  external  objects,  so  that,  on  the  presentment  of  cer- 
tain circumstances,  laughter  is  instantaneously  excited.  These 
signs  require  only  to  be  presented,  and  they  are  understood  in  all 
countries,  and  by  all  nations. 

But  mankind  possess  the  power  of  inventing  and  establishing 
arbitrary  signs  to  express  their  feelings  and  conceptions.  For 
example,  the  words  Love,  Compassion,  and  Justice,  are  mere 
conventional  signs,  by  which  we  in  Britain  agree  to  express  three 
internal  feelings  or  sentiments  of  the  mind  ;  and  there  is  no  natural 
connexion  betwixt  the  signs  and  the  things  signified.  The  meta- 
physicians might  attribute  this  power  to  Association;  but  we 
observe  it  to  belong  to  the  faculty  of  Language.  Persons  possess- 
ing this  faculty  strongly,  have  a  great  natural  power  of  inventing 
arbitrary  signs,  and  of  learning  the  use  of  them,  when  invented  by 
others.  But  this  faculty  gives  the  capacity  of  learning  the  signs 
alone,  and  the  meaning  of  them  is  acquired  by  other  faculties  : 
If  a  horse,  for  instance,  is  presented  to  the  mind,  the  faculty  of 
Language  gives  the  desire  to  find  a  name  or  sign,  by  which  to 
indicate  the  conception  of  it,  and  also  the  power  of  associating  the 
appearance  of  the  object,  with  the  sound  or  name  when  invented. 
But  the  meaning  or  signification  which  the  word  will  embrace, 
will  depend  on  the  perfection  of  other  faculties.  For  example,  the 
faculty  of  Form  will  judge  of  the  form  of  the  horse ;  Size,  of  its 
dimensions  ;  Coloring,  of  its  color.  Now,  a  blind  man,  by  aid 
of  the  faculty  of  Language,  may  learn  to  connect  his  own  notions 
of  a  horse  with  the  sound  of  the  name  ;  but  it  is  obvious  that  his 
conceptions  must  be  very  different  from  those  attached  to  it  by  a 
person  who  sees  ;  for  the  blind  man  could  not  judge  of  its  color  at 
all,  and  not  very  correctly  of  its  form  and  size.     In  the  same  way, 


LANGUAGE.  421 

any  one  having  the  faculty  of  Language,  may  learn  the  occasions 
and  manner  in  which  the  word  justice  is  generally  used  ;  but  how 
imperfect  must  be  the  meaning  attached  to  it,  in  the  mind  of  a 
person  like  David  Haggart,  who  was  extremely  deficient  in  the 
organ  of  Conscientiousness,  compared  with  the  notion  attending  it 
in  the  mind  of  a  person  in  whom  that  organ  is  extremely  large  ? 

Every  metaphysical  author  complains  of  the  ambiguity  of  words, 
and  shows  how  the  vagueness  of  their  signification  retards  the  pro- 
gress of  moral  and  intellectual  science  ;  and  the  exposition  now 
given  shows  whence  this  vagueness  arises.  Before  individuals  can 
attach  precisely  the  same  conceptions  to  words  expressing  feelings 
and  judgments  of  the  understanding,  they  require  to  possess  a  simi- 
lar combination  of  faculties,  and  as  no  two  individuals  do  possess 
an  exactly  similar  combination  of  faculties,  so  as  to  be  capable  of 
feeling  and  judging  alike  ;  there  will  be  shades  of  difference  in  the 
meaning  attached  by  different  persons  to  such  terms,  in  spite  of 
every  effort  to  define  them.  In  consequence  of  this  difference  in 
faculties,  the  very  definition  itself  is  differently  apprehended.  In 
mathematics  and  algebra,  the  things  indicated  by  the  signs  are  not 
feelings,  which  vary  in  every  individual,  but  proportions  and  rela- 
tions of  space  and  quantity,  which  have  a  fixed  and  definite  exist- 
ence, and  which,  if  apprehended  at  all,  can  be  conceived  only  in 
one  way.  Hence  the  precision  of  the  Language  of  these  sciences 
compared  with  that  of  metaphysics  or  moral  philosophy. 

If  these  principles  be  correct,  they  demonstrate  the  impossibility 
of  framing  a  philosophical  language,  applicable,  with  perfect  pre- 
cision, to  moral  disquisitions.  To  apprehend  the  very  definitions 
of  the  words,  we  must  be  able  to  experience  the  sentiments  which 
they  are  intended  to  indicate  ;  and  many  persons  are  capable  of 
doing  so  Only  in  a  very  imperfect  degree.  In  attending  to  the  style 
of  an  author,  he  will  be  found  to  use  those  words  with  most  pre- 
cision and  felicity,  which  express  mental  feelings  or  operations 
naturally  vigorous  in  himself.  Mr.  Stewart,  for  example,  writes 
with  great  beauty  and  correctness  in  narrative,  and  on  every  topic 
connected  with  moral  sentiments  ;  but  his  style  becomes  loose  and 
inaccurate  when  he  enters  upon  original  abstract  discussion,  requir- 


422  LANGUAGE. 

ing  the  activity  of  the  higher  intellectual  powers.  I  infer  from  this, 
that,  in  him,  the  knowing  and  sentimental  organs  were  more  amply 
developed  than  those  of  reflection.  Moore  uses  epithets  and  illus- 
trations, expressive  of  attachment,  with  great  frequency  and  inim- 
itable beauty  ;  and  we  may  conclude,  that,  in  him,  Adliesiveness, 
which  gives  such  feelings,  is  very  strong.  John  Bellingham,  on 
the  other  hand,  in  his  voluminous  memorials,  petitions  and  letters, 
was  continually  writing  about  justice  and  injustice,  about  cruelty 
and  oppression,  exercised  towards  him  ;  but  the  acts  which  he 
specifies  are  discovered  by  every  well  constituted  mind,  not  at  all 
to  possess  the  character  which  he  ascribes  to  them,  and  his  writings 
on  these  points  are  replete  with  the  grossest  abuses  of  words. 
This,  I  apprehend  to  arise  from  the  great  deficiency  of  Consci- 
entiousness which  is  discernible  in  his  head.  In  professional 
practice,  also,  every  lawyer  meets  with  individuals  who  pretend  to 
be  ardently  desiring  justice,  and  who  speak  incessantly  about  it, 
but  who  evidently  do  not  perceive  at  all  what  it  is  ;  the  selfish 
faculties  in  their  case  so  far  predominating  over  Conscientiousness, 
that  they  never  have  correct  notions  of  the  nature  of  justice.  The 
same  thing  happens  in  regard  to  religion.  Many  talk  about  it, 
and  against  it,  without  in  the  least  comprehending  the  object  of 
their  vituperation.  In  like  manner  every  one  will  acknowledge  in 
words  that  charity  is  a  duty ;  but,  on  inquiring  at  different  persons 
what  constitutes  charity,  we  shall  find  their  notions  of  the  meaning 
of  the  word,  and  of  the  duty  also,  to  vary  exceedingly,  according 
to  their  developement  of  Benevolence,  in  proportion  to  Acquisi- 
tiveness and  Self-Esteem.* 

*  These  principles  enable  us  to  explain,  in  a  simple  manner,  the  source  and 
nature  of  eloquence.  It  is  a  trite  observation,  that  every  passion  is  eloquent, 
that  is  to  say,  any  propensity  or  sentiment  being  vividly  active,  excites  the  fac- 
ulty of  Language  to  give  it  utterance ;  and  as  the  mental  emotion  is  strongly  felt, 
the  words  partake  of  the  force,  and  are  distinguished  by  the  precision,  which 
characterise  the  feeling.  Popular  eloquence  draws  largely  from  the  propensities 
and  sentiments,  and  hence  in  many  distinguished  orators  we  do  not  discover  so 
large  a  developement  of  the  intellectual  organs,  as  those  would  expect  who  ima- 
gine that  oratory  is  altogether  an  intellectual  product;  but  in  them  an  ample 
endowment  of  the  organs  of  the  propensities  and  sentiments  will  be  discovered. 
The  Phrenological  Society  possesses  masks  of  Burke  and  Curran.     The  former  is 


LANGUAGE.  423 

The  power  of  associating,  by  means  of  the  faculty  of  Language, 
conceptions  of  external  signs,  is  limited,  however,  in  one  respect. 
Any  indifferent  object  may  be  selected  and  used  as  the  arbitrary 
sign  of  a  propensity,  feeling  or  conception;  but  if  the  object  stands 
already  in  a  natural  relation  to  any  faculty,  it  cannot,  except  with 
great  difficulty,  be  made  the  arbitrary  sign  of  an  opposite  emotion. 
For  example,  we  might,  by  a  mutual  understanding,  constitute  a 
square  figure  the  artificial  sign  of  the  emotion  termed  rage.  After 
the  agreement  was  understood,  that  figure  would  suggest  the  notion 
of  rage,  just  as  well  as  the  letters  now  composing  that  word,  which 
are  mere  marks,  placed  in  a  certain  order :  But,  if  we  were  whim- 
sical enough  to  make  the  outline  of  a  sweet  and  smiling  counte- 
nance, which  likewise  is  merely  a  species  of  form,  the  sign  of  this 
emotion,  we  could  not,  except  with  great  difficulty,  learn  to  asso- 
ciate the  idea  of  rage  with  that  figure,  for  it  is  already  the  natural 
sign  of  emotions,  entirely  opposite ;  it  would  excite  Benevolence 
directly,  more  forcibly  than  Destructiveness  indirecdy,  through  the 
medium  of  Language;  it  would  call  up  ideas  of  joyfulness  and  inno- 
cence, rather  than  of  anger  and  cruelty.  In  the  same  way,  we 
might,  associate  feelings  of  veneration,  pity,  affection  or  grief,  with 
soft  and  sloio  notes  of  music,  because  these  notes,  which  produce 
emotions  of  a  specific  kind  themselves,  may  become  arbitraiy 
signs  of  any  other  emotions  of  a  homogeneous  kind.  But  it  would 
be  difficult  to  form  an  association,  by  which  soft,  slow  and  delicate 
tones,  would  become  the  artificial  signs  of  violent  rage,  jealousy 
and  fury;  because  the  natural  character  of  such  sounds  is  directly 
opposite  to  the  character  of  such  feehngs. 

Philosophers  have  written  voluminous  disquisitions  on  the  influ- 
ence of  words  on  thought ;  but  if  the  view,  now  presented,  be 
correct,  feelings  and  conceptions  must,  in  every  instance,  precede 
words  ;  and  the  invention  of  a  term,  for  which  no  idea  exists, 
instead  of  being  a  great  step  towards  the  advancement  of  know- 
by  much  the  most  distinguished  for  intellect  in  his  printed  remains,  and  his  fore- 
head is  the  best  developed ;  but  the  impression  made  by  Curran  on  a  popular 
assembly  was  perhaps  the  greater  of  the  two.  On  analyzing  Curran's  orations, 
however,  no  higher  degree  of  reflecting  power  will  be  discovered  in  them  than 
is  indicated  by  his  mask. 


424  LANGUAGE. 

ledge,  would  be  a  simple  absurdity.  It  is  true  that  the  language 
of  any  nation  is.  a  correct  index  of  its  attainments;  but  this  happens, 
because,  in  proportion  as  the  people  acquire  notions,  they  invent 
words  to  express  them,  and  hence  their  Language  is  commensurate 
with  their  mental  states. 

The  art  of  writing  greatly  facilitates  the  progress  of  knowledge; 
but  it  does  so  only  by  giving  precision  to  words  and  permanence 
to  thought.  Written  words  are  to  thinking  what  cyphers  are  to 
calculation  ;  they  record  our  past  attainments,  and  enable  us  to 
advance,  unincumbered,  in  the  path  of  discovery:  in  no  instance, 
however,  can  they  possibly  precede  the  march  of  ideas.  The 
new  nomenclature  of  chymistry  smooths  the  study  of  that  science; 
but  the  nomenclature  itself  was  the  result  of  correct  and  enlarged 
ideas  of  the  nature  and  relations  of  chymical  substances,  and  could 
not  possibly  have  been  formed  before  these  were  obtained. 

Persons  who  have  a  great  endowment  of  the  organ  of  Language 
abound  in  words.  In  ordinary  conversation  their  language  flows 
like  a  copious  stream, — in  speech  they  pour  out  torrents.  When 
this  organ  is  extremely  large,  and  those  of  reflection  small,  the 
individual  is  prone  to  repeat,  to  the  inconceivable  annoyance  of  the 
hearer,  the  plainest  sentences  again  and  again,  as  if  the  matter  were 
of  such  difScult  apprehension,  that  one  telling  was  not  sufficient 
to  convey  the  meaning.  This  practice  appears  to  originate  in  an 
immoderate  power  and  activity  of  the  faculty  of  Language,  so  great, 
that  delight  is  felt  in  mere  articulation,  independent  of  reflection. 
The  same  combination  produces  a  verbose,  cumbersome,  and 
inelegant  style  of  literary  composition.  Thomson's  Seasons  are 
chargeable  with  a  redundancy  of  words,  and,  in  the  portraits  of  the 
author,  the  organ  appears  very  large.  In  "  Dramas  of  the  Ancient 
World,"  by  David  Lindsay,  we  meet  with  examples  of  this  kind 
of  writing. 

"  My  gracious  kinsman 
What  good  occasion  now  hath  brought  thee  hither  ? 

Noah. — Nothing  of  good,  for  good  is  flown  for  ev^r 
Away  from  this  stained  world,  and  spotless  truth, 
And  weeping  mercy,  veihng  their  bright  looks 


LANGUAGE.  425 

With  their  spread  pinions,  have  forsaken  earth, 
And  sought  a  refuge  at  the  sacred  foot 
Of  the  Almighty's  throne." 

The  Deluge,  p.  16. 

,  Another  example  occurs  in  the  following  passage,  extracted  from 
a  periodical  publication. 

"We  hope  it  will  prove  interesting  to  our  readers,  occasionally 
to  take  a  popular  sketch  of  the  brilliant  success  attending  the 
meritorious  activity  of  the  respectable  circle  of  scientific  chymistSj 
ivhose  pursuits,  if  judiciously  exhibited,  are  fijted  to  interest  every 
mind  endowed  with  intellectual  curiosity." 

When  the  organ  is  very  small,  there  is  a  want  of  command  of 
expression,  a  painful  repetition  of  the  same  words,  and  a  conse- 
quent poverty  of  style,  both  in  writing  and  speaking.  The  style 
of  that  author  is  generally  most  agreeable,  in  whom  the  organs  of 
Language  and  of  Reflection  bear  a  just  proportion*  to  each  other. 
If  the  intellectual  powers  be  very  acute  and  rapid,  and  Language 
not  in  equal  proportion,  a  stammer  in  speech  is  frequently  the 
consequence.  Individuality  and  Comparison  greatly  assist  this 
faculty,  when  applied  to  the  acquisition  of  foreign  languages  and 
grammar.  I  have  observed  that  boys  who  are  duxes  in  classes 
for  languages  generally  have  Individuality,  Eventuality,  and  Com- 
parison large  ;  and  that  this  endowment,  with  moderate  Language, 
accomplishes  more,  in  the  way  of  scholarship,  than  a  large  de- 
velopement  of  the  latter  organ,  with  a  small  endowment  of  the 
former.  Such  individuals  have  a  great  facility  in  recollecting 
rules,  as  matters  of  fact  and  detail,  in  tracing  etymologies,  and  in 
discriminating  shades  of  meaning ;  and  the  combination  alluded  to 
gives  them  great  readiness  in  using  their  knowledge,  whatever  the 
extent  of  it  may  be. 

The  doctrine  before  laid  down,  that  the  signification  of  words 
is  learned  by  other  faculties,  removes  an  apparent  difficulty  that 
sometimes  presents  itself.  A  person  with  a  moderate  organ  of 
Language  will  sometimes  learn  songs,  poetry,  or  particular  speeches 
by  heart,  with  considerable  facility  and  pleasure  ;  but  in  all  such 
cases,  the  passages  so  committed  to  memory  will  be  found  highly 
54 


426  LANGUAGE. 

to  interest  his  other  powers,  such  as  Ideality,  Causahty,  Tune, 
Veneration,  Combativeness,  Adhesiveness ;  and  the  study  and 
recollection  of  vocables  only  is  to  him  difficult  and  disagreea- 
ble. To  a  person,  on  the  other  hand,  in  whom  the  organ  is 
decidedly  large,  mere  words  are  interesting,  and  he  can  learn 
them  without  caring  much  about  their  meaning.  Hence,  also,  a 
person  with  a  moderate  organ  of  Language,  and  good  reflecting 
organs,  may,  by  perseverance,  learn  languages,  and  attain  to  profi- 
ciency as  a  scholar  ;  but  he  will  not  display  copiousness,  fluency, 
and  richness  of  expression  in  his  style,  either  in  his  own  or  in  a 
foreign  tongue. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  precisely,  on  what  powers  the  talent 
for  learning  the  spirit  of  languages  depends.  The  fact  is  certain, 
that  some  individuals  easily  learn  the  spirit  of  different  languages 
without  having  a  great  memory  for  words  ;  while  others  readily 
acquire  words,  without  catching  the  spirit  of  any  language.  Dr. 
Gall  admits  two  organs  of  language ;  one  he  names  "  Sens  des 
mots,  sens  des  noms,  memoire  des  mots,  memoire  verbale;^^  and  the 
other  "  Sens  du  langage  de  parole;  talent  de  la  philologie;^^  and 
attributes  to  the  latter  the  talent  of  philology,  and  acquiring  the 
spirit  of  languages.  The  former  organ  he  describes  as  lying  on  the 
posterior  half  of  the  super-orbitar  plate,  and,  when  large,  it  pushes 
the  eyes  outwards  ;  it  gives  a  talent  for  learning  and  recollecting 
words  ;  and  persons  possessing  it  large  recite  long  passages  by 
heart,  after  reading  them  once  or  twice.  The  latter  organ,  says 
he,  is  placed  on  the  middle  of  the  anterior  part  of  the  super-orbitar 
plate,  and  the  eyeball,  in  consequence,  not  only  projects,  but  is 
depressed;  the  depression  producing  the  appearance  of  a  bag,  or 
folding  in  the  lower  eye-lid.  Persons  possessing  this  form  of  eyes, 
he  adds,  have  not  only  an  excellent  memory  of  words,  but  a  partic- 
ular talent  for  the  study  of  languages,  for  criticism,  and,  in  general, 
for  all  that  has  reference  to  literature.*  Dr.  Gall  states,  at  the 
same  time,  that  the  determination  of  the  size  of  the  organ  of  words 
is  attended  with  much  difficulty  ;  as,  from  its  situation,  it  may 
extend  itself  to  the  sides,  as  well  as  forwards,  increasing,  in  the 
*  Sur  les  Fonctions  du  Cerveau,  tome  v.  p.  18  and  30. 


LANGUAGE.  427 

former  case,  the  general  breadth  of  the  head  across  the  temples, 
or  even  between  the  eyes  ;  so  that  much  remains  to  be  ascertained 
in  regard  to  it. 

Br.  Spurzheim,  on  the  other  hand,  admits  only  one  organ  of 
Language,  lying  transversely  on  the  posterior  portion  of  the  super- 
orbitary  plates  ;  and  holds,  that  it  takes  cognizance  both  of  vs^ords 
and  the  spirit  of  languages.  "  It  seems  to  me,"  says  he,  "that 
the  organ  of  words  must  have  its  laws  as  well  as  those  of  Color, 
Melody,  or  any  other  faculty.  Now,  the  kw  of  words  constitutes 
the  spirit  of  language.  I  am  satisfied,"  he  continues,  "  that  this 
opinion  is  correct ;  because  the  spirit  of  every  language  is  the 
same,  just  as  the  essence  of  all  kinds  of  music  is  alike  ;  that  is, 
the  laws  or  principles  of  music  and  of  language  rule  universally, 
and  are  constant ;  they  are  only  modified  in  different  nations,  by 
modifications  in  their  organs,  and  dissimilar  combinations  of  these 
in  each."* 

I  am  disposed  to  coincide  with  Dr.  Spurzheim  in  this  view  ; 
and,  perhaps,  by  analyzing  the  source  whence  the  structure  of 
Language  proceeds,  we  may  obtain  some  light  on  the  origin  of  a 
taste  for  the  spirit  of  languages,  as  distinguished  from  the  power 
of  learning  and  recollecting  vs^ords. 

Language,  then,  expresses  merely  the  feelings  and  conceptions 
formed  by  the  various  primitive  faculties,  acting  separately,  or  in 
combination.  Now,  let  us  imagine  the  cerebral  developement  of 
a  nation  to  be  distinguished  by  large  organs  of  the  Propensities, 
Sentiments,  and  Knowing  Faculties,  small  Reflecting  organs,  and 
little  Secretiveness.  Their  language  being  the  spontaneous  growth 
of  such  a  combination,  would  naturally  abound  in  words  expressive 
of  simple  feelings,  conceptions  of  individual  objects,  and  their 
qualities  ;  while  it  would  be  poor  in  terms  of  abstract  relation, 
conceived  by  the  faculties  of  reflection.  For  the  same  reason, 
the  transitions  of  such  a  language  would  be  like  those  in  Mrs. 
Q^uickly's  speech,  rapid,  and  in  the  order  of  the  casual  occur- 
rence of  the  circumstances  which  excited  the  ideas  ;  Secretive- 
ness being  small,  there  would  naturally  be  little  involution  in  the 

*  Phrenology,  p.  327. 


428  LANGUAGE, 

arrangement  of  the  words.  Suppose,  on  the  other  hand,  that  in 
another  nation  Secretiveness,  and  the  Reflecting  organs,  predom- 
inated, the  genius  of  their  Language  would  differ  widely  from  that 
of  the  people  first  described.  Their  expressions  for  discriminating 
individual  conceptions  would  be  fewer,  while  their  stock  of  words 
and  phrases,  designative  of  abstract  relation,  would  be  more  exten- 
sive, and  the  general  structure  of  their  sentences  wo'uld  be  more 
involved.  Now,  suppose  two  individuals,  with  equal  organs  of 
Language,  and  coubtquently  equal  power  of  learning  words,  as 
mere  signs,  to  possess,  the  one  a  head  like  the  former,  and  the 
other  a  head  like  the  latter  people,  and  that  they  attempted  to  learn 
these  different  languages,  it  appears  probable,  that  the  one  with  the 
first  mentioned  developement  would  find  the  genius  of  the  first 
language  the  most  easy  and  natural  to  him  ;  he  would  acquire  its 
forms  of  collocation,  its  niceties  of  designation,  and  all  its  pretti- 
nesses,  with  facility  and  delight,  because  they  would  coincide  with 
the  modes  of  feeling  and  thinking  of  his  own  mind.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  his  attention  were  directed  to  the  language  of  the 
second  people,  he  would  meet  with  greater  difficulties.  Although 
he  might  master  the  words,  he  would  not  find  the  idioms  natural ; 
and  the  forms  of  expression  depending  on  the  reflecting  powers, 
and  likewise  the  involution  introduced  by  Secretiveness,  would 
appear  to  him  extremely  intricate  and  unintelligible  ;  he  would  be 
obliged  to  learn  them  by  rule,  through  defect  of  instinctive  tact  in 
apprehending  them  ;  and  rules  alone  never  produce  a  really  ex- 
cellent linguist.  The  second  language,  on  the  other  hand,  would 
come  quite  naturally  to  the  other  individual  possessing  a  head  like 
that  of  the  people  who  invented  it. 

If  these  views  be  correct,  the  talent  for  learning  the  genius  or 
spirit  of  different  languages  will  depend  upon  the  developement  of 
the  organ  of  words,  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  power  of  the 
individual 'to  enter  into  the  feelings,  and  form  the  precise  kinds 
of  intellectual  combinations,  of  different  nations  ;  or,  in  short,  upon 
the  capacity  to  go  out  of  himself,  and  to  enter  into  the  mental  states 
of  others :  and  this  is  conferred  chiefly  by  Secretiveness,  Imitation, 
Individuality  and  Eventuality,  aided  of  course  by  the  other  primitive 


LANGUAGE.  429 

faculties.  This  will  be  best  understood  by  an  example.  If  two 
individuals  have  an  equal  developement  of  all  the  organs  except 
the  four  now  mentioned,  wliich  the  one  possesses  in  a  high  degree, 
and  the  other  only  to  a  very  limited  extent,  the  former  will  have  a 
power  of  entering  into  the  feelings  and  reflections  of  others,  Avhich 
the  latter  would  want ;  and  this  power,  according  to  the  view  now 
'  presented,  would  render  him  more  apt  in  acquiring  the  spirit  of 
different  languages.  This,  however,  is  merely  a  theory,  thrown 
out  for  the  consideration  of  the  reader,  but  it  has  been  suggested 
by  facts.  I  know  an  individual,  who  has  an  excellent  developement 
of  many  of  the  organs,  but  is  a  very  decided  character,  and  posses- 
ses little  of  the  talent  of  entering  into,  or  accommodating  himself  to 
the  feelings  of  others,  and  he  experienced  an  inconceivable  diffi- 
culty in  acquiring  the  simplest  French  idioms.  I  know  another 
young  gentleman  who  was  in  the  same  situation  in  regard  to  Latin, 
and  who  has  little  versatility.  In  them,  the  organ  of  Language  is 
rather  deficient ;  but  then  I  have  met  with  several  persons  in  whom 
the  organ  was  equally  deficient,  and  who  possessed  the  power  of 
learning  foreign  idioms  ;  and  in  them,  on  the  other  hand,  the  power 
of  amalgamation  with  the  mental  states  of  others,  was  decidedly 
greater,  and  their  organs  of  Secretiveness,  Imitation,  Individuality 
and  Eventuality,  were  larger.  , 

Although  the  theory  of  the  talent  for  philology  is  involved  in 
considerable  obscurity,  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  ready  command 
of  words  in  speech  or  writing  is  in  proportion  to  the  developement 
of  the  organ  situated  above  the  super-orbitar  plate,  and  that  a  fluent 
orator  or  author  is  never  found  with  a  deficiency  of  it. 

Numerous  cases  are  on  record  of  the  power  of  using  words 
having  been  impaired  by  disease,  when  the  ability  to  articulate, 
and  the  powers  of  perception  and  judgment,  remained  entire.* 
In  the  Phrenological  Transactions,  Mr.  Hood  of  Kikaarnock  has 
communicated  a  very  interesting  instance  of  this  kind  which  fell 
under  his  o\vn  notice  as  medical  attendant.     The  patient,  a  sober 

*  In  No.  35  of  Fhren.  Journal.  Dr.  Gregory's  account  of  eiFects  of  muriate  of 
morphia  on  Language,  and  in  No.  36,  Mr.  W.  A.  F.  Browne's  account  of  diseased 
affections  of  the  same  organ. 


430  LANGUAGE,. 

and  regular  man  of  65  years  of  age,  possessed  of  the  ordinary 
knowledge  of  written  and  spoken  language,  on  the  evening  of  2d 
September  1822,  suddenly  began  to  speak  incoherently,  and  became 
quite  unintelligible  to  all  those  who  were  about  him.  "  It  was  dis- 
covered that  he  had  forgotten  the  name  of  every  object  in  nature. 
His  recollection  of  things  seemed  to  be  unimpaired,  but  the  names 
by  which  men  and  things  are  known,  were  entirely  obliterated  from 
his  mind,  or  rather  he  had  lost  the  faculty  by  which  they  are  called 
up  at  the  control  of  the  will.  He  was  by  no  means  inattentive, 
however,  to  what  was  going  on  ;  and  he  recognised  friends  and 
acquaintances  perhaps  as  quickly  as  on  any  former  occasion ;  but 
their  names,  or  even  his  own,  or  his  wife's  name,  or  the  names  of 
any  of  his  domestics,  appeared  to  have  no  placein  his  recollection. 
"On  the  morning  of  the  4th  September,"  says  Mr.  Hood, 
"much  against  the  wishes  of  his  family,  he  put  on  his  clothes,  and 
went  out  to  the  workshop ;  and,  when  I  made  my  visit,  he  gave 
me  to  understand,  by  a  variety  of  signs,  that  he  was  perfectly  well 
in  every  respect,  with  the  exception  of  some  slight  uneasiness 
referrible  to  the  eyes  and  eyebrows.  I  prevailed  on  him,  with 
some  difficulty,  to  submit  to  the  reapplication  of  leeches,  and  to 
allow  a  blister  to  be  placed  over  the  left  temple.  He  was  now  so 
well  in  bodily  health  that  he  would  not  be  confined  to  the  house  ; 
and  his  judgment,  in  so  far  as  I  could  form  an  estimate  of  it,  was 
unimpaired  ;  but  his  memory  for  words  was  so  much  a  blank,  that 
the  monosyllables  of  affirmation  and  negation  seemed  to  be  the  only 
two  words  in  the  language,  the  use  and  signification  of  which  he 
never  entirely  forgot.  He  comprehended  distinctly  every  word 
which  was  spoken  or  addressed  to  him  ;  and,  though  he  had  ideas 
adequate  to  form  a  full  reply,  the  words  by  which  these  ideas  are 
expressed  seemed  to  have  been  entirely  obliterated  from  his  mind. 
By  way  of  experiment,  I  would  sometimes  mention  to  him  the 
name  of  a  person  or  thing.  His  own  name,  for  example,  or  the 
name  of  some  one  of  his  domestics, — when  he  would  have  repeat- 
ed it  after  me  distinctly,  once  or  twice  ;  but,  generally,  before  he 
could  do  so  a  third  time,  the  word  was  gone  from  him  as  completely 
as  if  he  had  never  heard  it  pronounced.     When  any  person  read 


LANGUAGE.  431 

to  him  from  a  book,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  perceiving  the  meaning 
of  the  passage,  but  he  could  not  himself  then  read  ;  and  the  reason 
seemed  to  be,  that  he  had  forgotten  the  elements  of  written  lan- 
guage, viz.  the  names  of  the  letters  of  the  alphabet.  In  the  course 
of  a  short  time,  he  became  very  expert  in  the  use  of  signs  ;  and 
his  convalescence  was  marked  by  his  imperceptibly  acquiring  some 
general  terms,  which  were  with  him  at  first  of  very  extensive  and 
varied  appHcation.  In  the  progress  of  his  recovery,  time  and 
space  came  both  under  the  general  appellation  of  time.  All  future 
events  and  objects  before  him  were,  as  he  expressed  it,  '  next 
time  ; '  but  past  events  and  objects  behind  him  were  designated 
^last  time.'  One  day  being  asked  his  age,  he  made  me  to 
understand  that  he  could  not  tell ;  but,  pointing  to  his  wife,  uttered 
the  words  '  many  times '  repeatedly,  as  much  as  to  say  that  he 
had  often  told  her  his  age.  When  she  said  he  was  sixty,  he 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  inquired  what  '  time  '  it  was  ;  but 
as  I  did  not  comprehend  his  meaning  distinctly,  I  mentioned  to 
him  the  hour  of  the  day,  when  he  soon  convinced  me  that  I  had 
not  given  him  the  proper  answer.  I  then  named  the  day  of  the 
week,  which  was  also  unsatisfactory  ;  but,  upon  mentioning  the 
month,  and  day  of  the  month,  he  immediately  signified,  that  this 
was  what  he  wanted  to  know,  in  order  to  answer  my  question  res- 
pecting his  age.  Having  succeeded  in  getting  the  day  of  the 
month,  he  then  pointed  out  the  '  time '  or  day  of  the  month  on 
which  he  was  born,  and  thereby  gave  me  to  understand  that  he  was 
sixty  years  of  age,  and  five  days  or  ^  times,'  as  he  expressed  it." 
In  the  month  of  December,  1822,  his  convalescence  was  so 
complete,  that  he  could  support  conversation  without  much  diffi- 
culty. The  headaches,  with  which  he  had  been  so  long  affected, 
recurred  occasionally  ;  but  in  other  respects  he  enjoyed,  generally, 
tolerably  good  health.  On  10th  January,  1825,  he  suddenly 
became  paralytic  on  the  left  side.  On  17th  August  he  had  an 
attack  of  apoplexy,  and  on  21st  he  expired.  In  the  Phrenological 
Journal,  vol.  iii.  p.  28,  Mr.  Hood  has  reported  the  dissection  of 
his  brain.  In  the  left  hemisphere,  lesion  of  the  parts  was  found, 
which  terminated  "  at  half  an  inch  from  the  surface  of  the  brain, 


432  LANGUAGE. 

where  it  rests  over  the  middle  of  the  super-orbitar  plate."  Two 
small  depressions  or  cysts  were  found  in  the  substance  of  the  brain, 
"and  the  cavity,  considered  as  a  whole,  expanded  from  the  ante- 
rior part  of  the  brain  till  it  opened  into  the  ventricle  in  the  form 
of  a  trumpet."  The  right  hemisphere  did  not  present  any  remark- 
able appearance. 

Dr.  Spurzheim  mentions  having  seen,  at  Inverness,  a  case  close- 
ly resembling  the  foregoing  ;  and  also  one  of  the  same  nature  at 
Paris.  Dr.  Gall  also  cites  the  case  of  a  notary  recorded  by  Pinel, 
who,  after  an  attack  of  apoplexy,  had  forgot  his  own  name,  and 
that  of  his  wife,  children  and  friends,  although  his  tongue  preserved 
all  its  mobility.  He  could  no  longer  read  or  write,  but  neverthe- 
less remembered  objects  which  had  formerly  made  an  impression 
on  his  senses,  and  which  related  to  his  profession.  He  frequently 
pointed  out  with  his  finger  the  files  which  contained  documents 
that  could  not  be  found,  and  indicated,  by  other  signs,  that  he 
preserved  the  former  train  of  his  ideas  entire.*  Dr.  Gall  mentions 
also  the  case  of  a  soldier  sent  to  him  by  Baron  Larrey,  whom  he 
found  to  be  very  nearly  in  the  same  condition  as  the  notary  men- 
tioned by  Pinel.  "  It  was  not  his  tongue,"  says  he,  "which  was 
the  source  of  his  embarrassment,"  for  he  was  able  to  move  it  with 
great  agility,  and  to  pronounce  even  a  great  number  of  isolated 
words.  It  was  not  his  memory  either  which  was  in  fault,  for  he 
showed  evident  dissatisfaction  with  himself  upon  many  subjects 
which  he  wished  to  mention.  The  only  faculty  in  him  which  was 
impaired,  was  that  of  speech.  This  soldier,  like  the  patient  of  M. 
Pinel,  is  no  longer  capable  of  reading  or  wi'iting.f 

Some  individuals  in  whom  Language  is  large,  state  as  an  objec- 
tion that  they  have  a  bad  memory  of  names;  but  they  will  be  found 
in  general  to  have  a  deficient  memory  of  the  objects  which  the 
names  indicate ;  for  example,  if  they  cannot  recollect  names  of 
persons,  they  will  have  deficient  Form  and  Individuality;  and  if 
they  cannot  recollect  names  of  Tunes,  they  will  be  deficient  in 
Tune.     The  defect  lies  in  the  faculty  which  apprehends  and  recol- 

*  Pinel  sur  I'Alienation  mentale,  2de  edition,  p.  105. 
t  Physiologie  du  Cerveau,  vol.  iv.  p.  84. 


LANGUAGE.  433 

lects  the  primitive  idea,  for  which  Language  recollects  the  name ; 
and  it  is  quite  conceivable,  that  although  Language  may  be  power- 
ful, yet  it  may  not  furnish  names,  as  mere  words,  when  the  thing 
signified  is  not  present  in  the  mind. 

The  lower  animals  appear  to  have  tliis  organ  in  some  degree;  for 
they  learn  the  meaning  of  arbitrary  signs  in  so  far  as  they  possess 
the  feelings  and  conceptions  which  they  express. 

This  faculty  is  by  far  too  extensively  cultivated  in  ordinary  edu- 
cation. The  notion  seems  generally  to  prevail,  that  knowledge  of 
words  necessarily  imphes  comprehension  of  the  ideas  which  they 
are  intended  to  signify ;  but  this  is  a  great  mistake.  A  good 
education  must  embrace  the  cultivation  of  all  the  faculties,  by 
exercising  each  directly  on  its  own  objects,  and  regulating  its 
manifestations.  The  mere  storing  the  mind  with  words  never  can 
accomplish  these  ends. 

The  organ  is  large  in  the  companion  of  Gall,  Sir  J.  E.  Smith, 
Humboldt,  Voltaire  ;  and  small  in  the  mask  of  Fraser.  Estab- 
lished. 


GENERAL    OBSERVATIONS      ON    INDIVIDUALITY,    AND    THE 
OTHER    KNOWING    OR    PERCEPTIVE    FACULTIES. 

No  objection  to  Phrenology  is  more  frequently  repeated  than 
that  such  and  such  persons  have  retreating  foreheads,  and  yet  are 
very  clever.  A  short  explanation  wiU  serve  to  remove  this  diffi- 
culty. In  the  first  place,  a  forehead  may  appear  retreating,  not 
because  the  reflecting  organs  are  greatly  deficient,  but  because 
the  knowing  organs  are  very  prominently  developed,  so  that  if  the 
latter  were  diminished  in  size,  the  former  would  appear  relatively 
larger:  But  every  one  must  perceive,  that,  in  such  an  event,  the 
mental  powers  of  the  perceptive  class  would  be  proportionally 
diminished,  and  the  talents  of  the  individual  lessened,  while  the 
unskilful  observer  might  imagine  him  to  possess  a  better  develope- 
ment  of  forehead.  In  the  mask  of  Henri  Quatre,  for  example, 
the  forehead  appeal's  to  slope ;  whereas,  if  the  knowing  organs 
55 


434  GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS 

were  reduced  to  the  same  state  of  projection  beyond  the  cheek 
bones,  as  in  the  mask  of  Voltaire,  the  forehead  would  appear  much 
more  perpendiculai*.  This,  however,  would  clearly  detract  from 
his  mental  power.  It  would  cause  the  reflecting  faculties  to 
predominate  only,  by  diminishing  his  talent  in  the  department  of 
observation. 

But,  in  the  next  place,  suppose  that  a  head  does  retreat  exceed- 
ingly, still  Individuality,  and  the  other  knowing  organs,  may  be 
large ;  and  if  we  attend  for  a  moment  to  the  range  of  these 
powers,  we  shall  perceive,  that  the  individual  may  be  deficient  in 
Causality  and  Comparison,  and  yet  be  very  clever.  A  wide  range 
of  sciences,  falling  under  the  scope  of  Individuality  and  Eventu- 
ality chiefly,  has  already  been  pointed  out,  and  in  which  a  person 
so  endowed  may  be  very  learned.  Fai'ther,  the  details  of  history, 
statistics,  geography,  and  trade,  all  belong  to  the  department  of 
simple  knowledge  ;  and  in  them  also  he  may  be  eminently  skilled  ; 
and,  finally,  in  the  daily  occurrences  of  life,  acuteness  of  observa- 
tion, and  the  power  of  treasuring  up  the  lessons  of  experience 
which  he  will  possess,  are  important  elements  in  a  practical  judg- 
ment. If,  then,  to  a  large  endowment  of  the  knowing  organs,  a 
nervous  temperament  be  added,  the  individual  will  be  active  and 
enterprising;  if  Cautiousness  be  large,  he  will  be  prudent,  and 
rarely  venture  beyond  the  scope  of  his  abilities ;  if  Conscientious- 
ness be  lai'ge,  he  will  enjoy  that  delicacy  of  sentiment  which  tells 
instinctively  where  the  right  lies,  and  where  the  path  of  honor 
terminates  ;  and  with  these  endowments  there  is  no  wonder  that 
he  may  act  creditably  and  cleverly  in  the  ordinary  walks  of  life. 
These  are  not  imaginary  suppositions  ;  but  descriptions  drawn  from 
observation  of  numerous  individuals  in  active  life.  Such  persons, 
however,  are  never  distinguished  for  profound  and  comprehensive 
views  of  abstract  principles;  which  belong  to  the  reflecting  faculties 
not  yet  treated  of. 

In  the  preceding  pages,  it  is  stated,  that  the  faculty  of  Form 
perceives  the  forms  of  objects  ; — Coloring,  their  color ; — Size, 
their  dimensions  ; — that  Individuality  takes  cognizance  of  exist- 
ences,   and    Eventuality   of    events   in   general.      The   question 


ON   THE   KNOWING   ORGANS.  435 

naturally  occurs,  if  the  minor  knowing  powers  apprehend  all  the 
separate  qualities  of  external  objects,  what  purposes  do  Individ- 
uality and  Eventuality  serve  in  the  mental  economy?  The  func- 
tion of  Individuality  is  to  form  a  single  intellectual  conception  out 
of  the  different  items  of  information  communicated  by  the  other 
knowing  faculties,  which  take  cognizance  of  the  properties  of 
external  objects.  In  perceiving  a  tree,  the  object  apprehended  by 
the  mind  is  not  color,  form,  and  size,  as  separate  quahties  ;  but  a 
single  thing  or  being  named  a  tree.  The  mind  having,  by  means 
of  Individuality,  obtained  the  idea  of  a  tree,  as  an  individual 
existence,  may  analyze  it,  and  resolve  it  into  its  constituent  parts 
of  form,  color,  magnitude;  but  the  contemplation  of  it  in  this 
manner  is  at  once  felt  to  be  widely  different  from  the  conception 
attached  to  the  word  Tree  as  a  whole.  The  function  of  Individ- 
uality, therefore,  is  to  embody  the  separate  elements  furnished  by 
these  other  knowing  faculties  into  one,  and  to  produce  out  of  them 
conceptions  of  aggregate  objects  as  a  whole  ;  which  objects  are 
afterwards  viewed  by  the  mind  as  individual  existences,  and  are 
remembered  and  spoken  of  as  such,  without  thinking  of  their 
constituent  parts.  Children  early  use  and  understand  abstract 
terms,  such  as  tree,  man,  ship  ;  and  the  organ  of  Individuality  is 
very  prominently  developed  in  them. 

Farther,  Form,  Color  and  Size,  furnish  certain  elementary 
conceptions,  which  Individuality  unites  and  conceives  as  one,  such 
as  Man.  The  faculty  of  Number  called  into  action  gives  the  idea 
of  plurality  ;  and  that  of  Order  furnishes  the  idea  of  gradations 
of  rank  and  arrangement.  Now,  Individuality,  receiving  the  inti- 
mations of  all  these  separate  faculties,  combines  them  again,  and 
contemplates  the  combination  as  an  individual  object,  and  this  is  an 
army.  After  the  idea  of  an  array  is  thus  formed,  the  mind  drops 
the  recollection  of  the  constituent  parts,  and  afterwards  thinks  of 
the  aggregate  only,  or  of  the  combined  conception  formed  by 
Individuality ;  and  regards  it  as  a  single  object. 

Eventuality  is  surrounded  by  Individuality,  Locality,  Comparison 
and  Causality,  and  forms  individual  conceptions  from  their  com- 
bined intimations.  A  storm  is  not  an  object  of  specific  existence, 
nor  is  it  a  quality  of  any  external  object ;   yet  the  mind  clearly 


496  COMPARISON. 

apprehends  it.  It  is  the  result  of  physical  elements  in  violent 
commotion,  and  all  the  faculties  last  enumerated,  together  with 
Eventuality  itself,  which  observes  motion,  combine  in  furnishing 
individual  conceptions,  which  Eventuality  unites  into  one  idea, 
designated  by  a  "storm."  Revolution  is  another  example:  A 
revolution  does  not  exist  in  nature  as  a  substantive  thing,  but  arises 
from  the  combined  action  of  numerous  moral  and  physical  causes, 
the  result  of  which  Eventuality  conceives  as  one  event. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  Phrenological  System,  which  at 
first  sight  appears  rude  and  unphilosophical,  harmonizing  thus  simply 
and  beautifully  with  nature.  Had  it  been  constructed  by  imagina- 
tion or  reflection  alone,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  objec- 
tion of  the  minor  knowing  faculties  rendering  Individuality  and 
Eventuality  superfluous,  would  have  appeared  so  strong  and  insur- 
mountable, as  to  have  msured  the  exclusion  of  one  or  other  as 
unnecessary ;  and  yet,  until  both  were  discovered  and  admitted, 
the  formation  of  such  terms  as  those  we  have  considered  was 
altogether  inexplicable. 


Genus  IV. — reflecting  faculties. 

The  intellectual  faculties  which  we  have  considered,  give  a 
knowledge  of  objects  and  their  qualities,  and  of  events  ;  those 
to  which  we  now  proceed,  produce  ideas  of  relation,  or  reflect. 
They  minister  to  the  direction  and  gratification  of  all  the  other 
powers  ;   and  constitute  what  we  call  Reason  or  Reflection. 

34.  ^COMPARISON. 

Dr.  Gall  often  conversed  on  philosophical  subjects  with  a  spa- 
vant,  possessing  much  vivacity  of  mind.  Whenever  the  latter  was 
put  to  difficulty  in  proving  rigorously  his  positions,  he  had  always 
recourse  to  a  comparison.  By  this  means  he  in  a  manner  painted 
his  ideas,  and  his  opponents  were  defeated  and  carried  along  with 


I 


COMPARISON.  437 

him ;  effects  which  he  could  never  produce  by  simple  argument. 
As  soon  as  Dr.  Gall  perceived  that,  in  him,  this  was  a  character- 
istic trait  of  mind,  he  examined  his  head,  and  found  an  eminence 
of  the  form  of  a  reversed  pyramid  in  the  upper  and  middle  portion 
of  the  frontal  bone.  He  confirmed  the  observation  by  many  sub- 
sequent instances.  He  names  it  "perspicacity,  sagacity,  esprit  de 
comparaison.'" 

The  faculty  gives  the  power  of  perceiving  resemblances  and 
analogies.  Tune  may  compare  different  notes  ;  Color  contrast 
different  shades  ;  but  Comparison  may  compare  a  Tint  and  a  Note, 
a  Form,  and  a  Color,  which  the  other  faculties  by  themselves 
could  not  accomplish. 

Comparison  thus  takes  the  widest  range  of  nature  within  its 
sphere:  "It  compares,"  says  Mr.  Scott,  "things  of  the  most 
opposite  kinds,  and  dravA^s  analogies,  and  perceives  resemblances 
between  them,  often  the  most  unexpected.  It  compares  a  light 
seen  afar  in  a  dark  night,  to  a  good  deed  shining  in  a  naughty 
world  ;  or  it  compares  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  to  a  grain  of 
mustard-seed.  It  discerns  resemblances  between  things  the  most 
distant  and  the  most  opposite.  It  finds  analogies  between  the 
qualities  of  matter  and  mind;"  and  from  these  comparisons  and 
analogies,  a  great  part  of  our  language,  expressive  of  the  qualities 
of  mind,  is  drawn  ;  "a  great  part  of  it  being  almost  metaphorical, 
and  apphed  originally  in  its  literal  sense  to  designate  qualities  of 
matter."  For  this  reason,  the  language  of  every  nation  proves 
whether  this  organ  is  much  or  little  developed  in  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  its  individuals.  If  they  have  this  faculty  in  a  high  degree, 
their  language  is  replete  with  figure.  Dr.  Murray  Patterson  men- 
tions that  the  Hindostanee  language  abounds  in  figures,  and  that 
Comparison  is  larger  than  Causality  in  the  heads  of  the  Hindoos  in 
general.  It  is  the  origin  of  proverbs,  which  in  general  convey 
instruction  under  figurative  expressions. 

This  faculty  attaches  us  to  comparison,  without  determining  its 
.kinds  ;  for  every  one  must  choose  his  analogies  from  his  knowledge, 
or  from  the  sphere  of  activity  of  his  other  faculties.  He  who  has 
the  faculty  of  Locality  in  a  high  degree,  derives  thence  his  exam- 


438  COMPARISON 

pies  ;  while  another,  in  whom  Form  predominates,  will  illustrate 
from  it.  Dr.  Chalmers  draws  his  illustrations  from  mechanics  and 
astronomy ;  and  the  organs  which  take  cognizance  of  these  are 
large  in  his  mask. 

It  was  formerly  supposed  that  this  faculty  takes  cognizance  only 
of  resemblances,  and  that  another  discriminates  differences  ;  but, 
in  treating  of  the  faculty  of  Wit,  p.  324,  I  have  stated  that  per- 
ception of  resemblance  is  the  result  of  a  lower,  and  discrimination 
of  differences  of  a  liigher,  degree  of  power  in  every  intellectual 
faculty. 

This  faculty  gives  a  tendency  which  is  frequently  called  Reason- 
ing, but  which  is  very  different  from  the  correct  and  severe  induc- 
tions of  a  sound  logic  ;  namely,  it  endeavors  to  prove  that  one 
thing  is  of  such  and  such  a  nature,  because  it  resembles  another 
which  is  so  and  so  ;  in  short,  it  reasons  by  analogy,  and  is  prone 
to  convert  an  illustration  into  an  argument.  The  late  Mr.  Logan, 
the  minister  of  Leith,  is  an  example  of  this  kind  of  intellect.  He 
is  always  establishing  a  proposition,  and,  to  those  who  do  not 
analyze  profoundly,  appears  to  be  an  argumentative  preacher  ;  but 
his  argument  is  not  induction,  it  is  a  mere  statement  of  analogies, 
closed  by  an  inference  that  the  case  in  point  must  be  as  he  views 
it,  otherwise  it  would  be  an  exception  to  the  ordinary  arrangements 
of  nature.  The  tendency  of  this  faculty,  when  feeble,  is  to  per- 
ceive only  resemblances,  and  not  the  differences  of  things  ;  and, 
as  a  difference  in  one  point  out  of  a  hundred  frequently  destroys 
the  whole  force  of  the  analogy,  no  reasoning  is  so  often  false  and 
superficial  as  that  of  persons  in  whom  Comparison  is  the  leading 
intellectual  organ,  but  in  whom  nevertheless  it  is  not  large.  The 
late  Mr.  Playfair  maybe  cited  as  an  example  in  opposition  to  these. 
In  him  Causality  was  as  large  as  Comparison,  and  his  comparisons 
are  merely  illustrations.  His  argument,  in  general,  stands  in  the 
relation  of  necessary  consequence,  and  his  conclusion  is  in  the 
form  of  a  direct  deduction  from  his  premises.  This  faculty  is 
more  rarely  deficient  than  any  of  the  other  intellectual  powers,  and 
the  Scripture  is  addressed  to  it  in  an  eminent  degree,  being  replete 
with  analogies  and  comparisons. 


COMPARISON.  439 

This  faculty,  from  giving  readiness  in  perceiving  analogies  and 
resemblances,  confers  great  instantaneous  acuteness.  The  organ  is 
largely  developed  in  a  neighboring  nation ;  and  it  is  correctly  ob- 
served by  a  late  writer,  that  "  ingenuity  in  discovering  unexpected 
glimpses  and  superficial  coincidences  in  the  ordinary  relations  of 
life,  the  French  possess  in  an  eminent  degree."*  In  schools, 
the  best  scholars  generally  have  much  Language  and  Comparison. 
The  faculty  is  of  essential  service  to  orators  and  popular  preachers. 
It  and  Eventuality  are  the  largest  organs  in  the  forehead  of  the  late 
Right  Honorable  WiUiam  Pitt.  It  is  large  also  in  the  busts  of 
Curran,  Chalmers,  Burke,  and  Jeffrey.  In  Mr.  T.  Moore  it  is 
very  large,  and  in  the  Westminster  Review,  No.  8,  it  was  re- 
marked that  there  are  two  thousand  five  hundred  similies  in  his 
life  of  Sheridan,  besides  metaphors  and  allegorical  expressions. 
Dr.  Gall  correctly  observes,  that  close  reasoning  and  rigid  induc- 
tion, is  always  disagreeable  to  a  popular  audience,  because  their 
faculties  are  not  cultivated  or  exercised  to  follow  abstract  concep- 
tions. The  great  charm  of  popular  speakers,  therefore,  consists 
in  perspicuity  of  statement,  and  copiousness  of  illustration. 

From  giving  power  of  illustration  and  command  of  figures,  this 
faculty  is  of  great  importance  to  the  poet,  and  it  aids  Wit  also,  by 
suggesting  analogies.  By  common  observers,  indeed,  the  meta- 
phors, amplifications,  allegories,  and  analogies,  which  Comparison 
supplies,  are  frequently  mistaken  for  the  products  of  Ideality, 
although  they  are  very  different. 

Ideality  being  a  sentiment,  when  greatly  excited,  infuses  passion 
and  enthusiasm  into  the  mind,  and  prompts  it  to  soar  after  the 
splendid,  the  beautiful,  and  the  sublime,  as  objects  congenial  to 
its  constitution. f     Comparison,  on  the  other  hand,  being  an  intel- 

*  Edinburgh  Review,  Nov.  1820,  p.  389. 
t  It  is  under  the  influence  of  Ideality,  that 
"  The  poet's  eye,  in  a  fine  frenzy  rolHng, 

Doth  glance  from  Heaven  to  Earth,  from  Earth  to  Heaven; 

And  as  imagination  bodies  forth. 

The  forms  of  things  unknown,  the  poet's  pen 

Turns  them  to  shapes,  and  gives  to  airy  nothing 

A  local  habitation  and  a  name  " 


440  COMPARISON. 

lectual  power,  produces  no  passion,  no  intense  feeling  or  enthu- 
siasm;  it  coolly  and  calmly  plays  off  its  sparkling  fire-works,  and 
takes  its  direction  from  the  other  powers  with  which  it  is  com- 
bined. If  united  with  great  Individuality  and  Causality  in  any 
individual,  the  comparisons  employed  will  be  copious,  ingenious, 
and  appropriate ;  but  if  Ideality  is  not  large,  they  will  not  be> 
impassioned,  elevated  and  glowing.  Add  to  Comparison,  again, 
a  large  Ideality,  as  in  Dr.  Chalmers,  and  its  similies  will  now 
twinkle  in  delicate  lovehness  like  a  star,  now  blaze  in  meridian 
splendor  like  the  sun,  while  intense  feeling  and  lofty  enthusiasm 
will  give  strength  and  majesty  to  all  its  conceptions. 

It  is  large  in  Raphael,  Roscoe,  Edwards,  Henri  Quatre,  Mr 
Hume,  Hindoos  ;  deficient  in  Charibs. 

Hitherto  the  function  of  this  organ  has  been  considered  as 
limited  to  a  perception  of  general  resemblance  and  difference 
between  objects  compared  ;  but  a  new  view  has  been  suggested 
by  my  ingenious  friend  Mr.  Hewett  Watson.  He  conceives  that 
its  simple  function  probably  is  "a  perception  of  conditions  ;" 
and  he  proposes  the  term  " Conditional! ty"  as  the  name.  "It  is 
admitted,"  says  he,  "that  the  faculty  of  Form  compai-es  forms, 
Tune  compares  notes,  and  Coloring  compares  colors.  In  these 
faculties.  Comparison  is  a  mode  of  activity  only ;  and  it  is  contrary 
to  all  analogy  to  assign  comparison  to  another  organ  as  its  primitive 
function.  The  organ  XXXIV,  therefore,  will  probably  originate 
some  specific  perceptions  distinct  in  kind  from  those  of  any  other 
organ ;  and  its  compai'isons  will  be  made  between  its  own  percep- 
tions only;  as  is  the  case  with  every  other  intellectual  faculty." 
A  few  illustrations  will  render  these  ideas  more  clear. 

When  we  utter  the  word  "Man,"  we  address  Individuality 
alone  ;  we  speak  of  a  being  which  exists,  without  specifying  his 
form,  size,  color,  or  weight ;  without  mentioning  his  actions ;  and 
without  intimating  his  condition.  When  we  say  the  man  walks,  we 
add  a  new  idea,  that  of  walking  :  In  this  proposition  we  caJl  in  the 
aid  of  Eventuality,  which  perceives  action  or  events.  If  we  say 
the  tall  man  walks,  we  address    Size,   Individuality  and  Event- 


COMPARISON.  441 

uality  ;  or  if  we  say  the  black  man  rides,  then  Color,  Individuality 
and  Eventuality  combine  in  uttering  and  in  understanding  the  pro- 
position :  But,  suppose  that  we  are  told  that  the  miserable  man 
runs  along  the  road  ;  here  we  have  first,  the  man, — second,  his 
condition,  miserable, — and  third,  his  action,  running :  now,  what 
organ  takes  cognizance  of  his  condition."  It  is  obvious  that  it 
must  be  an  organ  distinct  from  the  other  two,  because  the  mind 
can  conceive  the  man,  without  his  action ;  it  can  conceive  the  man 
and  his  action  without  thinking  of  his  condition ;  and  his  condition 
without  adverting  to  his  action ;  his  condition  is  therefore  a  third 
and  separate  consideration,  introduced  as  an  article  of  additional 
information.  Again,  suppose  that  we  are  told  that  Mr.  A.  and 
Miss  B .  were  mai-ried  last  week  at  the  altar  of  their  parish  church  ; 
the  information  would  be  communicated  by  and  addressed  to  the 
organs  of  Individuality,  which  take  cognizance  of  Mr.  A.  and 
Miss  B.  as  individuals,  and  the  altar  and  church  as  things  which 
exist ;  Locality  would  inform  us  of  the  place  of  the  marriage,  and 
"Time"  of  the  date  of  it;  but  in  all  this  nothing  is  said  of  the 
condition  of  the  parties.  Now,  suppose  that  we  should  meet 
them  coming  from  the  church,  and  should  wish  them  much  "hap- 
piness" in  their  "  new  condition,"  it  is  evident  that  some  concep- 
tions different  from  the  former  are  added.  We  now  contemplate 
them  in  the  "married  condition,"  and  we  express  our  wish  that 
they  may  exist  happy  in  that  state. 

Mr.  Watson's  idea  is,  that  the  primitive  function  of  Comparison 
is  to  take  cognizance  of  the  condition  in  which  beings  and  inani- 
mate objects  exist ;  and  that  it  compares  the  conditions,  just  as 
Color  compares  colors,  and  Tune  compares  sounds.  Of  all  the 
means  of  creating  interest  or  affording  illustration,  the  specification 
of  the  condition  of  objects  or  beings  is  the  most  effectual.  Thus, 
the  man  exists,  is  announced  by  Individuality,  and  produces  little 
interest ;  the  man  dies,  is  announced  by  Individuality  and  Event- 
uality, and  is  more  affecting;  but  the  '■'■good  and  Jwsi  young  man 
dies,"  stirs  up  a  far  deeper  emotion;  and  it  is  the  addition  of  his 
qualities  and  condition  "  good,  just,  and  young,"  that  makes  the 
difference.  Poets  and  orators,  therefore,  in  whom  this  organ  is 
56 


442  COMPARISON. 

large,  will  possess  vivid  perceptions  of  the  condition  and  qualities 
of  objects  and  beings ;  and  if  every  faculty  compai-es  its  own 
objects,  it  will  compare  conditions.  If  this  be  correct,  we  ought 
to  find  authors  in  whom  Individuality  predominates,  illustrating 
their  subject  chiefly  by  comparing  simple  individual  objects ;  one  in 
whom  Eventuality  predominates  illustrating  by  comparing  actions ; 
and  one  in  whom  the  organ  now  under  discussion  predominates, 
illustrating  by  comparing  conditions  or  states ;  and  such  accordingly 
is  actually  the  case.  The  following  illustrations  are  furnished 
chiefly  by  Eventuality. 

"  When  Ajax  strives  some  rock's  huge  weight  to  throw, 
The  line  too,  labors,  and  the  words  move  slow; 
Not  so  when  swift  Camilla  scours  the  plain, 
Flies  o'er  the  unbending  corn,  and  skims  along  the  main." 

Pope. 

Mr.  Watson  observes,  that,  in  Sheridan,  Individuality  and 
Eventuality  are  large,  and  Comparison  only  full ;  and  the  example 
already  given  on  page  401,  from  his  works,  corresponds  with  this 
developement. 

In  Moore,  Individuality  is  large,  Eventuality  deficient,  and  Com- 
parison very  large ;  and  his  descriptions  are  confined  so  much  to 
conditions,  that  .any  artist  who  should  attempt  to  transfer  one  of 
his  beauties  to  canvass,  would  require  to  invent  every  item  of 
form,  proportion,  color,  and  indeed,  every  thing  except  condition. 
"  The  harp  that  once  through  Tara's  halls"  is  a  good  example 
of  this ;  the  whole  piece  being  but  a  description  and  comparison 
of  conditions.  In  another  short  poem,  "  Though  Fate,  my  girl, 
may  bid  us  part,"  the  same  occurs;  and  the  following  is  another 
example, — 

.    "  When  I  remember  all 

The  friends  so  linked  together, 
I  've  seen  around  me  fall 

Like  leaves  in  wintry  weather ; 
I  feel  like  one  who  treads  alone 

Some  banquet-hall  deserted ; 
Whose  lights  are  fled,  whose  garlands  dead; 

And  all  but  he  departed." 


COMPARISON.  443 

It  is  quite  obvious,  that  condition  is  the  prominent  feature,  indeed, 
almost  the  whole  physiognomy  of  these  lines. 

In  the  busts  of  Pope,  Individuality  is  moderately  developed. 
Eventuality  very  large,  and  Comparison  considerable.  "  The 
styles  of  Pope,  and  Moore,"  says  Mr.  Watson,  "seem  to  be 
quite  contrasted  in  this  respect,  that  Pope  naiTates  all  the  circum- 
stances of  his  stories  in  succession,  as  they  may  be  supposed  to 
occur.  Moore,  on  the  other  hand,  gives  us  a  series  of  highly 
finished  pictures,  describing  clearly  and  beautifully  the  state  of 
the  earth,  atmosphere,  sky,  clouds,  and  dramatis  personcB,  for  the 
time  being,  but  by  no  means  with  that  regular  sequence  of  occur- 
rences which  is  to  be  found  in  Pope.  His  stories  are  the  whole 
routine  of  real  life  ;  those  of  Moore  stage  representations,  where 
a  good  deal  is  done  behind  the  scenes,  and  only  the  most  effec- 
tive parts  brought  into  view.  Pope  writes  historical  documents 
with  the  minute  accuracy  and  detail  of  a  French  pedigree ; 
Moore's  pen  is  like  the  pencil  of  an  artist,  and  creates  a  gallery  of 
paintings,  where  we  see  the  same  persons  in  different  situations  at 
different  periods,  but  with  no  more  information  of  what  becomes 
of  them  in  the  interim,  than  we  can  obtain  concerning  the  noon- 
day dwelling  of  Oberon.,  or  the  Ghost  of  Royal  Hamlet.  Their 
styles  being  thus  different,  we  should  expect  their  similies  to 
exhibit  a  corresponding  diversity,  if  there  be  really  no  special 
organ  of  Comparison :  those  of  Pope  should  be  less  strongly 
characterized  by  resemblance  of  condition,  and  show  a  greater  or 
more  proportional  variety  in  the  points  of  similitude  ;  the  com- 
parisons should  be  more  diversified,  and  the  resemblances  more 
comprehensive." — Phren.  Journ.  vi.  389. 

I  communicated  Mr.  Watson's  ideas  to  Dr.  Spurzheim,  before 
they  were  published  in  the  Phrenological  Journal ;  and  he  favored 
me  with  the  following  remarks,  in  a  letter,  dated  Dublin,  16th  May, 
1830  : — "  My  description  of  Comparison  involves  the  essence  of 
Mr.  Watson's  idea  : — Among  your  examples,  young  horse  belongs 
to  it,  but  not  lively  horse.  The  horse  being  lively,  is  known  by 
Eventuality,  in  the  same  way  as  motion  in  general.  The  generality 
of  attributes    and  all  abstract  ideas  and  general   notions  are  con- 


444  CAUSALITY. 

ceived  by  Comparison.  Condition  indicates  not  only  state,  but  also 
cause  ;  and  if  Comparison  shall  be  replaced  by  another  term, 
it  cannot  be  Conditionality.  Abstraction  or  generalization  should 
be  preferable.  Vergleichender  Scharfsinn  is  very  significant  : 
It  compares,  discriminates,  separates,  abstracts,  adapts,  and  gen- 
eralizes. The  philosophers  styled  JsTominalists  had  it  in  an  emi- 
nent degree,  whilst  Individuality  was  predominant  in  the  Realists. 
Comparison  compares  conditions  or  states,  and  conditions  or 
causes.  Its  essential  result  is  generalization  and  discrimination." 
These  differences  of  opinion  apply  only  to  the  metaphysical 
analysis  of  the  faculty:  the  organ  and  the  manifestations  which  ac- 
company it  are  held  to  be  perfectly  ascertained.  Examples  of  the 
organ  are  given  under  Eventuality,  p.  399. 

S5. CAUSALITY. 

It  has  long  been  a  matter  of  general  observation,  that  men  pos- 
sessing a  profound  and  comprehensive  intellect,  such  as  Socrates, 
Bacon,  and  Galileo,  have  the  upper  part  of  the  forehead  greatly 
developed.  At  Vienna,  Dr.  Gall  remarked,  that,  in  the  most  zeal- 
ous disciples  of  Kant,  men  distinguished  for  profound,  penetrating, 
metaphysical  talent,  the  parts  of  the  brain  lying  immediately  out- 
wards, and  to  the  sides  of  the  organ  of  Comparison,  were  dis- 
tinctly enlarged.  He  and  Dr.  Spurzheim  subsequently  saw  a  mask 
of  Kant  himself,  moulded  after  death,  and  perceived  an  extraor- 
dinary projection  of  these  parts.  At  a  later  period,  they  became 
personally  acquainted  with  Fichte,  and  found  a  developement  of 
that  region  still  larger  than  in  Kant.  Innumerable  additional 
observations  satisfied  them  concerning  the  functions  of  this  organ  ; 
Dr.  Gall  named  it  "  jGspn'i  metaphysique^  Profondeur  d'' esprit j" 
and  Dr.  Spurzheim  "Causality." 

Dr.  Thomas  Brown  says,  "  a  cause,  in  the  fullest  definition 
which  it  philosophically  admits,  may  be  said  to  be,  that  which 
immediately  precedes  any  change,  and  which,  existing  at  any 
time  in  similar  circumstances,  has  been  always,  and  will  he 
always,  immediately  followed  by  a  similar  change.     Priority  in 


CAUSALITY.  445 

the  sequence  observed,  and  invariableness  of  antecedence  in  the 
past  and  future  sequences  supposed,  are  the  elements,  and  the 
only  elements,  combined  in  the  notion  of  a  cause."  This  is  a 
definition  by  means  of  Individuality  and  EventuaUty,  of  the  func- 
tions of  Causality,  but  it  is  not  complete.  When  we  treat  of  an 
original  and  simple  power  of  mind,  all  we  can  do  is  to  state  the 
circumstances  which  excite  it,  and  to  give  the  mental  affection  a 
name.  We  cannot,  for  example,  by  means  of  a  definition,  enable 
a  person  who  never  felt  sweetness,  to  understand  what  it  is.  We 
can  only  say  that  sugar,  and  other  saccharine  substances,  when 
applied  to  the  organ  of  taste,  excite  in  them  a  particular  sensation, 
which  we  call  sweetness.  It  is  the  same  with  Causality.  All  we 
can  accomplish  is  to  point  out  the  circumstances  in  which  the 
mental  affection  connected  with  that  organ  arises,  and  to  give  a 
name  to  the  affection  itself.  Now,  the  metaphysical  definition 
describes  with  sufficient  accuracy  the  circumstances  which  excite 
the  affection  ;  but  it  does  not  convey  any  notion  of  the  original 
mental  state  itself  which  is  thereby  produced  :  In  addition  to  the 
invariable  sequence  which  Eventuahty  perceives,  an  impression  of 
power  or  efficiency  in  the  antecedent  to  produce  the  consequent, 
appears  to  me  to  be  excited  in  the  mind,  by  contemplating 
instances  of  causation  in  nature ;  and  this  impression  seems  to  be 
the  primitive  mental  affection  connected  with  the  organ  of  Causality. 
It  is  said,  that  it  is  only  by  experience,  and  by  observing  the 
invariableness  of  the  sequence  that  we  discover  the  connexion  of 
cause  and  effect,  and  this  is  correct;  but  in  this  respect  Causality 
does  not  differ  from  the  other  faculties.  Caloric  as  a  substance 
existing  in  nature  is  one  thing,  and  the  feeling  of  heat  produced  by 
it  in  the  human  nerves  is  another.  Before  the  mind  can  experi- 
ence the  feeling,  heat  must  be  applied  to  the  nerves;  but  even 
after  it  has  been  applied  and  the  sensation  felt,  the  mind  knows 
nothing  about  what  caloric  is  in  itself,  or  how  it  comes  to  have  the 
quality  of  exciting  the  sensation.  All  that  the  mind  discovers  is, 
that  caloric,  be  it  what  it  may,  exists;  and  that  it  is  capable  of 
exciting  in  the  nerves,  the  peculiar  feeling  which  is  named  heat  or 
warmth.     The   same   holds   in  regard  to  Causality.     Before  the 


446  CAUSALITY. 

mind  can  know  the  presence  of  a  cause,  it  must  have  manifested 
itself  to  the  faculty  by  producing  an  effect.  The  presentment  of 
caloric  to  the  nerves  produces  the  feeling  of  heat;  and  the  present- 
ment of  an  instance  of  causation  excites  in  Causality  the  impression 
that  a  cause  exists.  Suppose  a  bent  bow,  with  an  arrow  drawn  to 
the  head,  but  retained  in  this  position,  to  be  presented,  it  is  said 
that  Causality,  prior  to  experience,  could  never  discover  that,  on 
the  restraining  power  being  withdrawn,  the  bow  would  expand  and 
propel  the  arrow;  and  this  is  quite  correct;  because  a  bow  in  this 
condition  is  an  object  which  excites  only  the  faculties  of  Form, 
Size,  Coloring,  &c.  It  is  an  object  of  still  life,  of  simpk  exist- 
ence; when  it  expands,  and  the  arrow  starts  from  the  string,  it 
becomes  an  object  of  Eventuality,  which  perceives  the  motion;  but 
in  addition  to  the  perception  of  the  bow  as  a  substance,  and  of  the 
motion,  an  instinctive  impression  is  generated,  that  the  expansion 
was  the  cause  of  the  arrow's  motion;  and  this  impression  is  pro- 
duced by  Causality.  The  most  illiterate  savage  would  repeat  the 
operation  in  the  confidence  that  the  effect  would  follow.  A 
monkey,  however,  although  it  might  find  the  arrow  very  useful  to 
knock  down  fruit  which  it  could  not  reach  with  its  feet,  would  not 
repeat  the  operation  although  presented  with  the  bow  and  arrow. 
It  possesses  hands  and  arms  quite  adapted  to  draw  the  string,  but 
having  no  organ  of  Causality,  it  would  not  receive  the  impression 
of  causation ;  it  might  see  the  phenomena  succeed  each  other, 
without  any  idea  of  efficiency  being  excited.* 

*  Beavers  and  others  of  the  lower  animals  appear,  at  first  sight,  to  have  some 
degree  of  Causality.  Beavers  adapt  the  structure  of  their  dam  w^ith  surprising 
sagacit7  to  the  pressure  of  the  water ;  and  in  preparing  it,  they  not  only  cut  trees 
in  such  a  way,  as  to  make  certain  of  their  falling  into  the  water,  and  not  on  dry 
land,  but  they  select  trees  so  situated,  that  when  they  do  fall,  the  stream  shall 
carry  them  to  the  spot  where  they  wish  them  to  be  placed.  There  appears  a 
knowledge  of  cause  and  effect  in  these  operations ;  and  yet  the  beaver  cannot 
apply  this  knowledge  out  of  its  own  department.  I  am  inclined,  therefore,  to 
give  a  different  explanation.  It  is  probable  that  each  knowing  faculty  is  adapted 
to  the  natural  laws  of  its  objects  ;  the  organ  of  Tune  is  fitted  not  only  to  feel  in 
accordance  with  the  laws  of  harmony,  but  instinctively  to  seek  to  obey  them  in 
producing  music ;  it  desires  melody,  and  melody  cannot  be  produced  except  in 
conformity  with  those  laws :  it  therefore  tries,  and  tries  again,  until  at  last  it  sue- 


CAUSALITY.  447 

Individuality,  Eventuality,  and  Comparison  take  cognizance  of 
things  obvious  to  the  senses.  Causality  looks  a  little  farther  than 
these,  perceives  the  dependences  of  phenomena,  and  furnishes  the 
idea  of  causation,  as  implying  something  more  than  mere  juxta- 
position or  sequence, — as  forming  an  invisible  bond  of  connexion 
between  cause  and  effect.  It  impresses  us  with  an  irresistible 
conviction,  that  every  phenomenon  or  change  in  nature  is  caused 
by  something,  and  hence,  by  successive  steps,  leads  us  to  the  First 
Cause  of  all.  In  looking  at  the  actions  of  men,  it  leads  us  to 
consider  the  motives,  or  moving  causes,  from  which  they  proceed. 
Individuality  judges  of  direct  evidence,  or  facts;  Causality  of  cir- 
cumstantial evidence,  or  that  by  inference.  In  a  trial,  a  juryman, 
with  large  Individuality  and  small  Causality,  will  have  great  diffi- 
culty in  convicting  on  circumstantial  evidence.  He  in  whom 
Causality  is  large  will  often  feel  that  kind  of  proof  to  be  irresistible. 
It  induces  us,  on  all  occasions,  to  ask.  Why  is  this  so?  It  gives 
deep  penetration,  and  the  perception  of  logical  consequence  in 
argument.  It  is  large  in  persons  who  possess  a  natural  genius  for 
metaphysics,  political  economy,  or  similar  sciences.  When  greatly 
larger  than  Individuality,  Eventuality,  and  Comparison,  it  tends 
to  vague  generalities  of  speculation,  altogether  inapplicable  to  the 

ceeds  in  producing  sounds  agreeable  to  itself,  and  just  because  its  constitution  and 
the  laws  of  harmony  are  in  accordance,  it  at  last  fulfils  these  laws  by  instinctive 
impulse,  without  knowing  them.  It  is  probable  that  the  organs  of  Constructive- 
ness  and  Weight  in  the  beaver,  are  in  like  manner  adapted  to  the  laws  of  gravita- 
ation,  and  that  it  instinctively  obeys  them  without  knowing  any  thing  of  the  laws 
themselves.  This  would  account  for  its  powers  being  perfect,  yet  limited  in  their 
sphere.  Constructiveness  and  weight  in  man  also  may  be  adapted  to  these  laws, 
but,  by  the  addition  of  Causality,  he  may  become  acquainted  with  natural  powers 
as  general  agents,  and  become  capable  of  tracing  their  general  application.  Thus, 
a  beaver,  an  elephant,  and  a  savage,  may,  by  the  mere  instinct  of  weight  and 
momentum,  roll  or  pull  up  an  inclined  plain  a  heavy  body,  which  they  cannot 
lift,  without  knowing  any  thing  of  the  causes  why  they  succeed  in  raising  it  in 
this  way  ;  but  a  philosopher,  with  great  Causality,  may  recognise  the  existence 
^f  the  cause,  ascertain  the  laws  of  its  operation,  and  then  adapt  it  to  a  variety 
of  purposes.  This  would  account  for  philosophers  often  excelling  in  particular 
branches  of  science,  who  are  very  deficient  in  Causality ;  Newton,  for  example, 
in  mathematics  and  weight ;  while  no  man  is  ever  observed  to  be  eminent  for  his 
talent  of  applying  causation  generally,  who  has  a  deficiency  of  that  kind. 


448  CAUSALITY. 

affairs  of  life;  and  hence  those  in  whom  it  predominates  are  not 
calculated  to  shine  in  general  society.  Their  sphere  of  thought  is 
too  abstracted  to  be  reached  by  ordinary  minds;  they  feel  this,  and 
remain  silent;  and  hence  are  reputed  dull,  heavy,  and  even  stupid. 
A  great  defect  of  the  organ  renders  the  intellect  superficial;  and 
unfits  the  individual  for  forming  comprehensive  and  consecutive 
views,  either  in  abstract  science  or  business.  Coincidence  only, 
and  not  Causation,  is  then  perceived  in  events:  Such  persons  are 
often  admirably  fitted  for  common  situations,  or  for  executing  plans 
devised  by  profounder  intellects;  but,  if  they  are  intrusted  with 
the  duties  of  legislators,  or  become  directors  in  any  public  affair, 
embracing  Causation,  it  is  difficult  to  make  them  comprehend 
the  natural  dependences  of  things,  and  to  act  according  to  them. 
Blind  to  remote  consequences,  they  stigmatize  as  visionary  all 
intellectual  perceptions  which  their  own  minds  cannot  reach ;  they 
reject  principle  as  vain  theory  ;  are  captivated  by  expedients,  and 
represent  these  as  the  beau  ideal  of  practical  wisdom. 

Dr.  Spurzheim  observes,  "  that  the  faculty  of  Individuality  makes 
us  acquainted  with  objects  and  facts  ;  the  faculty  of  Comparison 
points  out  their  identity,  analogy  or  difference  ;  and  Causality 
desires  to  know  the  causes  of  all  events  :  consequently,  those  three 
faculties  together  forming  systems,  drawing  conclusions,  indications, 
or  corollaries,  and  pointing  out  principles  and  laws,  constitute  the 
true  philosophical  understanding. " 

It  is  interesting  to  trace  the  effects  of  this  faculty,  strong  or  weak, 
in  the  mental  character,  as  it  exhibits  itself  in  the  occurrences  of 
life.  I  accompanied  two  gentlemen  to  see  a  great  public  work,  in 
one  of  whom  Individuality  was  large  and  Causality  small,  and  in 
the  other  of  whom  the  proportions  of  these  organs  were  exactly 
reversed.  The  former,  in  surveying  the  different  objects  and 
operations,  put  question  after  question  to  the  workmen,  in  rapid 
and  long  continued  succession ;  and  nearly  all  the  information 
which  he  carried  away  with  him  was  acquired  in  answer  to  specific 
interrogatories.  His  mind  scarcely  supphed  a  step  by  its  own 
reflection ;  and  did  not  appear  to  survey  the  operations  as  a  syste- 
iiiatic  whole.     The  latter  individual  looked  a  long  time  in  silence 


CAUSALITY.  449 

before  he  put  a  question  at  all  ;  and  when  he  did  ask  one,  it  was, 
What  is  the  use  of  that  ?  The  answer  enabled  his  own  mind  to 
supply  a  multitude  of  additional  ideas  ;  he  proceeded  in  his  exam- 
ination, and  it  was  only  on  arriving  at  another  incomprehensible 
part  of  the  apparatus,  that  he  again  inquired.  At  last  he  got 
through ;  then  turned  back,  and,  with  the  most  apparent  satisfac- 
tion, contemplated  in  silence  the  operations  from  beginning  to  end 
as  an  entire  system.  I  heard  him  afterwards  describe  what  he  had 
seen,  and  discovered  that  he  had  carried  off  a  distinct  comprehen- 
sion of  the  principles  and  objects  of  the  work.  It  is  probable  that 
a  superficial  observer  would  have  regarded  the  first  as  the  acute, 
intelligent,  and  observing  man  of  genius  ;  the  person  who  noticed 
every  thing,  and  asked  about  every  thing ;  and  the  latter  as  a  dull 
uninteresting  person,  who  put  only  two  or  three  questions  in  aH, 
looked  heavily,  and  said  nothing. 

A  gentleman  in  a  boat  was  unexpectedly  desired  to  steer.  He 
took  hold  of  the  helm,  hesitated  a  moment  what  to  do,  and  then 
steered  with  just  effect.  Being  asked  why  he  hesitated,  he  re- 
plied, "  I  was  unacquainted  with  steering,  and  required  to  think 
how  the  helm  acts. "  He  was  requested  to  explain  how  thinking 
led  him  to  the  point,  and  replied.  That  he  knew,  from  study,  the 
theory  of  the  helm's  action  ;  that  he  just  run  over  in  his  mind  the 
water's  action  upon  it,  and  its  action  on  the  boat,  and  then  he  saw 
the  whole  plainly  before  him.  He  had  a  full  Causality,  and  not 
much  Individuality.  A  person  with  great  Individuality  and  Event- 
uality, and  httle  Causality,  placed  in  a  siniilar  situation,  would  have 
tried  the  experiment  of  the  helm's  action,  to  come  to  a  knowledge 
of  the  mode  of  steering  :  he  would  have  turned  it  to  the  right  hand, 
and  to  the  left,  and  observed  the  effect,  then  acted  accordingly;  and 
he  might  have  steered  during  his  whole  life  thereafter,  without 
knowing  any  thing  more  about  the  matter. 

A  question  arose  in  an  evening  party  concerning  the  cause  of 
the  harvest  moon.  In  one  gentleman  present,  Individuality  and 
Eventuality  predominated ;  in  another,  Causality  was  the  larger 
intellectual  organ.  In  an  instant  the  former  said  that  the  harvest 
light  was  owing  to  the  moon's  then  advancing  north  to  the  Tropic 
57 


450  CAUSALITY. 

of  Cancer  at  the  time  of  her  being  full.  The  latter  paused  for  a 
time,  and  added,  "Yes,  sir,  you  are  quite  right."  Observing  the 
difference  in  their  heads,  and  perceiving  by  their  manner  that  they 
had  arrived  at  the  result  by  different  mental  processes,  I  asked 
them  to  explain  how  they  knew  this  to  be  the  cause.  The  first 
said,  "  Oh  !  I  recollect  Professor  Play  fair  stated  it  in  his  lectures 
to  be  so."  The  other  replied,  "  I  had  forgot  the  precise  fact,  but 
I  recollected  the  principle  on  v^hich  the  Professor  mentioned  it  to 
depend,  and  by  a  moment's  reflection  I  followed  it  out,  and  arriv- 
ed at  the  conclusion  which  this  gentleman  has  just  announced." 
"I  am  not  sure,"  said  the  former,  "  that  I  could  now  master  the 
principle,  but  of  the  result  I  am  quite  certain  ;  because  I  distinctly 
recollect  of  its  being  stated  by  Mr.  Playfair."  This  is  a  striking 
example  of  the  mode  of  action  of  these  different  faculties.  Indi- 
viduality knows  only  facts  ;  Eventuality  events :  and  Causality 
takes  cognizance  of  principles  alone. 

Causality  is  the  fountain  of  resources.  Place  an  individual,  -in 
whom  it  is  small,  in  new  circumstances,  and  he  will  be  helpless 
and  bewildered  ;  place  another,  in  whom  it  is  large,  in  a  similar 
situation,  and  he  will  show  his  superiority  by  the  extent  of  his 
inventions.  A  mechanic,  with  little  Causality,  will  be  at  a  stand 
if  his  ordinary  tools  are  wanting,  or  if  employed  out  of  his  ordinary 
line  ;  another,  having  this  faculty  powerful,  will  find  a  thousand 
substitutes.  If  a  person  deficient  in  Causality  be  placed  in  charge 
of  any  establishment,  comprehending  a  variety  of  duties  which  arise 
the  one  out  of  the  other,  and  all  of  which  cannot  be  anticipated 
and  specified  a  priori^  he  will  be  prone  to  neglect  part  of  what 
he  ought  to  attend  to.  He  will  probably  plead  forgetfulness  as  his 
excuse,  but  want  of  comprehensiveness,  and  consecutiveness  of 
thinking,  will  be  the  real  cause  of  his  imperfections. 

If  a  person,  possessing  little  Causality,  write  a  book,  he  may 
shine  in  narrative,  provided  Individuality  or  Eventuality  and  Lan- 
guage be  amply  developed  ;  but  when  he  endeavors  to  reason, 
he  will  become  feeble  and  confused.  One  endowed  with  much 
Causality,  in  reading  a  work,  written  by  an  author  in  whom  this 
organ  is  deficient,  will  feel  it  characterized  by  lightness  and  want 


CAUSALITY.  451 

of  depth  ;  it  will  furnish  him  with  no  stimulus  to  thinking.  When, 
on  the  other  hand,  a  person  possessing  only  a  small  Causality, 
peruses  a  book  composed  by  an  author  in  whom  this  organ  pre- 
dominates, such  as  Locke's  Essays,  or  Brown's  Lectures,  he  will 
regard  it  as  heavy,  abstract,  and  dry,  and  be  oppressed  by  it  as  if 
a  night-mare  were  weighing  on  his  mind. 

Among  metaphysicians,  Hume,  Dr.  Adam  Smith,  and'  Dr. 
Thomas  Brown  display  great  Causality,  Dr.  Reid  not  so  much, 
and  Mr.  Stewart  still  less.  In  the  portraits  of  the  first  three 
the  organ  is  represented  as  decidedly  large.  It  is  large,  also,  in 
Bacon,  Locke,  Franklin,  and  Playfair  ;  and  likewise  in  the  masks 
of  Haydon,  Burke,  Brunei,  Wordsworth,  and  Wilkie.  It  is  mod- 
erate in  Pitt,  Sir  J.  E.  Smith ;  and  very  deficient  in  the  Charibs 
and  New  Hollanders.  A  late  writer  observes,  that,  "  of  whatever 
has  been  said  and  written  upon  the  moral  and  political  sciences  in 
France,  the  general  characteristic  is  a  deficiency  in  extensive  views 
of  human  nature,  in  profound  investigation  of  the  heart,  portrayed 
in  all  its  strongest  feelings  and  multitudinous  bearings."  *  Without 
subscribing  to  the  accuracy  of  this  observation  in  its  full  extent, 
the  fact  may  be  mentioned  as  certain,  that,  in  the  French  head  in 
general  the  organ  of  Causality  is  by  no  means  largely  developed. 

"  The  ancient  artists,"  says  Dr.  Spurzheim,  "  have  given  to 
Jupiter  a  forehead  more  prominent  than  to  any  other  antique  head ;, 
and  hence  it  would  seem  they  had  observed,  that  the  developement 
of  the  forehead  has  a  relation  to  great  understanding."  The  bust 
of  Socrates  (of  which  the  Phrenological  Society  possesses  a  copy,) 
shows  a  very  large  developement  of  the  reflecting  organs.  It  is 
either  a  correct  representation  of  his  real  appearance,  and  then  it 
presents  an  interesting  coincidence  betwixt  his  character  and  devel- 
opement ;  or  it  is  supposititious,  and,  in  that  case,  shows  the  im- 
pression of  the  ancient  artist,  that  such  a  mind  as  that  of  Socrates 
required  such  a  tenement  for  jts  abode. 

As  already  mentioned,  when  the  organ  now  under  consideration 
is  very  deficient,  the  individual  has  great  difficulty  in  perceiving 
Causation  ;  and  when  two  events   are  presented  to  him  following 
"  Edinburgh  Review,  Nov.  1820,  p.  389. 


452  CAUSALITY. 

each  other  or  concomitant,  he  sees  only  coincidence.  Illustrations 
of  this  observation  frequently  occur  in  discussions  relative  to  Phre- 
nology. When  Causality  is  well  developed  in  an  observer,  and 
several  decided  instances  of  concomitance  betwixt  particular  forms 
of  head  and  particular  powers  of  mind  are  presented  to  him,  the 
feeling  of  connexion  between  them  is  irresistible  ;  he  is  struck 
with  it,  and  declares  that  there  is  something  here  which  ought  to 
be  followed  out.  When  the  same  facts  are  exhibited  to  a  person 
in  whom  Causality  is  deficient,  he  smiles  surprisedly,  and  ejaculates 
"a  curious  coincidence  ;"  but  his  mind  receives  no  strong  impres- 
sion of  connexion  between  the  phenomena  ;  it  feels  no  desire  to 
follow  out  the  ideas  to  their  consequences,  and  has  no  wish  to 
prosecute  the  investigation.  It  was  from  this  class  of  minds,  ever 
ready  to  catch  superficial  glimpses,  that  the  public  received  the 
first  accounts  of  Phrenology  ;  and  on  them  is  chargeable  the  mis- 
representations which  so  long  impeded  its  course. 

This  faculty  is  an  ingredient  in  the  judgment  of  the  metaphysi- 
cians. It  is  also,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  fountain  of  abstract  ideas, 
viz.  those  of  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  and  bears,  in  this 
respect,  an  analogy  to  their  abstraction.  It  and  Comparison  cor- 
respond to  the  Relative  Suggestion  of  Dr.  Thomas  Brown:  "A 
tendency  of  the  mind,"  says  he,  "by  which,  on  perceiving  or 
conceiving  objects  together,  we  are  instantly  impressed  with  certain 
feelings  of  their  mutual  relation."*  By  dispensing  with  Percep- 
tion, Conception,  &c.  as  separate  faculties  of  the  mind,  and  divid- 
ing the  intellect  into  the  two  faculties  of  Simple  Suggestion  and 
Relative  Suggestion,  Dr.  Brown  has  made  an  interesting  approach 
to  the  results  of  phrenological  discovery,  and  to  a  correct  analysis 
of  the  actual  constitution  of  the  human  intellect.  It  was  impossi- 
ble, by  means  of  the  old  faculties  of  Conception,  &c.  to  point  out 
the  distinctive  characteristics  of  a  mind  which  collected  only  facts 
in  the  order  in  which  they  were  presented  to  it ;  and  of  another, 
which  struck  out  a  multitude  of  new  ideas  from  every  object  which 
it  contemplated,  and  instinctively  inquired  from  what  causes  all 
phenomena  proceed,  and  to  what  results  they  tend.  Dr.  Brown's 
*  Lectures,  vol.  iii.  p.  14. 


CAUSALITY.  453 

Simple  Suggestion  denotes  the  one,  his  Relative  Suggestion  the 
other  ;  and  in  Phrenology,  the  Perceptive  Faculties  correspond  to 
the  former,  and  the  Reflecting  Powers  to  the  latter. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  consider  some  points  which  have  occa- 
sioned great  and  animated  discussions  among  the  philosophers  of 
the  old  schools.  It  has  been  stated,  that  Individuality  takes  cog- 
nizance of  objects  that  exist.  A  tree,  a  ship,  a  mountain  are 
presented  to  the  mind  ;  and  ideas  or  conceptions  of  them  are 
formed ;  and  the  conception  is  followed  by  an  instinctive  belief 
in  their  existence.  Bishop  Berkeley  objects  to  the  belief  in  their 
existence  as  unphilosophical,  because,  says  he,  the  conception  or 
idea  is  a  mere  mental  affection,  and  no  principle  or  reason  can  be 
assigned,  why  an  external  object  must  be  believed  to  exist,  merely 
because  we  experience  a  mental  affection.  A  smell,  for  example, 
is  nothing  more  than  a  certain  impression  on  the  mind,  communi- 
cated through  the  olfactory  nerves.  But  no  necessary  connexion 
can  be  perceived  betvs^een  this  affection  and  a  belief  in  the  existence 
of  a  rose  :  the  mind  may  undergo  the  affection  called  a  smell,  just 
as  it  experiences  the  emotion  called  joy,  and  a  material  object  may 
have  as  little  to  do  in  causing  the  one  as  the  other.  Hence  Dr. 
Berkeley  concluded,  that  we  have  philosophical  evidence  for 
the  existence  only  of  mind  and  mental  affections,  and  none  for  the 
existence  of  the  material  world.  Hume  carried  this  farther,  and 
argued,  that  as  we  are  conscious  only  of  ideas,  and  as  the  exist- 
ence of  ideas  does  not  necessarily  imply  the  existence  of  mind, 
we  have  philosophical  evidence  for  the  existence  of  ideas  only,  and 
none  for  that  of  either  matter  or  mind.  Dr.  Reid  answered  Berke- 
ley's objection  by  observing,  that  the  belief  in  external  objects, 
consequent  on  perceiving  them,  is  instinctive,  and  hence  requites 
no  reason  for  its  support. 

Phrenology  enables  us  to  refer  these  different  speculations  to 
their  sources,  in  the  different  faculties.  Individuality  (aided  by  the 
other  perceptive  faculties,)  in  virtue  of  its  constitution,  perceives 
the  external  world,  and  produces  intuitive  belief  in  its  existence. 
But  Berkeley  employed  the  faculty  of  Causality  to  discover  why  it 
is  that  this  perception  is  followed  by  belief;  and  because  Causality 


454  CAUSALITY 

could  give  no  account  of  the  matter,  and  could  see  no  necessary 
connexion  between  the  mental  affection,  called  Perception,  and 
the  existence  of  external  nature,  he  denied  the  latter.  Dr.  Reid's 
answer,  translated  into  phrenological  language,  was  simply  this,— 
the  cognizance  of  the  existence  of  the  outward  world  belongs  to 
Individuahty  ;  Individuality  has  received  its  own  constitution,  and 
its  own  functions,  and  cannot  legitimately  be  called  on  to  explain, 
or  account  for  these,  to  Causality.  In  virtue  of  its  constitution,  it 
perceives  external  objects,  and  belief  in  them  follows  ;  and  if  Cau- 
sality cannot  see  Jioio  this  happens,  it  is  a  proof  that  Causality's 
powers  are  limited,  but  not  that  Individuality  is  deceitful  in  its 
indications. 

Another  class  of  philosophers,  by  an  error  of  a  similar  kind, 
have  denied  Causation.  When  Eventuality  contemplates  the 
relation  of  cause  and  effect,  it  discovers  only  one  event  following 
another,  in  immediate  and  invariable  sequence :  For  example,  if  a 
cannon  be  fired,  and  the  shot  knock  down  a  wall.  Individuality 
observes  only  the  existence  of  the  powder.  Eventuality  perceives 
the  fire  apphed  to  it,  the  explosion,  and  the  fall  of  the  building,  as 
four  events  following  in  succession;  but  it  forms  no  idea  of  power 
or  energy  in  the  gunpowder,  when  ignited,  to  produce  the  effect. 
When  Causality,  on  the  other  hand,  is  joined  with  Eventuality  in 
contemplating  these  phenomena,  the  impression  of  power  or  effi- 
ciency in  the  gunpowder  to  produce  the  explosion,  arises  sponta- 
neously in  the  mind,  and  Causality  produces  an  intuitive  belief  in 
the  existence  of  this  efficiency,  just  because  it  is  its  constitution  to 
do  so;  and  it  is  as  absurd  for  Eventuahty  to  deny  the  existence  of 
some  quality  in  the  matter  which  gives  rise  to  this  feeling,  because 
only  Causality  perceives  it,  as  for  Causality  to  deny  the  existence 
of  the  external  world,  because  only  Individuality  perceives  it. 

A  practical  application  of  much  importance  follows  from  these 
doctrines. 

Some  men  deny  the  existence  of  God;  and  others  strenuously 
maintain,  that  that  existence  is  demonstrable  by  a  legitimate  exer- 
cise of  reason.  The  former,  who  deny  God,  say,  that  all  we 
perceive  in  external  nature  is  existence  and  the  succession  of  phe- 


CAUSALITY.  455 

nomena  ;  that  we  can  form  no  idea  of  efficiency  or  power ;  and 
that,  therefore,  all  we  know  philosophically  is,  that  matter  exists, 
and  undergoes  certain  changes.  This  is  the  natural  conclusion  of 
men  in  whose  heads  Individuality  and  Eventuality  are  large,  and 
Causality  small;  and,  accordingly,  Atheists  are  generally  very  defi- 
cient in  the  organ  of  Causality,  and  show  its  weakness  in  their 
general  arguments  on  other  topics.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  a  mind 
in  which  Causality  is  very  powerful,  surveys  the  phenomena  of 
nature,  the  conviction  of  a  Cause  of  them  arises  irresistibly  and 
intuitively  from  the  mere  exercise  of  the  faculty.  Benevolence 
and  design,  in  the  arrangements  of  the  moral  and  physical  world, 
are  clearly  perceived  by  it  ;  and  it  therefore  instinctively  infers, 
that  Benignity  and  Intelligence  are  attributes  of  the  Cause  which 
produced  them.  Hence  the  fact  is  phrenologically  explained,  why 
all  master  spirits  are  behevers  in  God.  Socrates,-  Plato,  and  the 
ancient  philosophers,  are  represented  as  endowed  with  large  organs 
of  Causahty;  and  they  all  admitted  a  Deity.  Voltaire  had  too  large 
a  Cailsalityto  doubt  of  the  existence  of  God;  and  Franklin  contin- 
ued to  reverence  the  Supreme  Being,  although  he  had  renounced 
Christianity. 

To  some  who,  perhaps  for  the  sake  of  argument,  have  seemed 
inclined  to  deny  the  existence  of  a  Deity,  I  have  made  the  follow- 
ing appeal,  without  receiving  any  satisfactory  answer: — A  tree  with 
roots  exists;  the  earth  exists;  and  there  is  exquisite  adaptation  of  the 
one  to  the  other.  The  adaptation  is  not  a  quality  of  the  tree,  nor 
of  the  earth;  but  a  relation  between  them.  It  has  no  physical  exist- 
ence, but  is  clearly  apprehended  by  mind.  Mind,  therefore,  must 
have  contrived  it ;  and  this  mind  we  call  the  Deity.  Causality 
perceives  the  adaptation. 

Another  argument  resorted  to  by  atheists  finds  an  answer  in  the 
principles  now  explained.  They  object  that  we  have  no  evidence 
of  the  self-existence  of  God  ;  and  affirm,  that,  for  any  thing  we 
know  to  the  contrary,  the  Maker  of  the  world  may  himself  own  a 
superior,  and  have  been  created.  Their  objection  is  stated  in  this 
form:  "  You  who  beheve  in  God  infer  his  existence  from  seeing 
his  works,  on  the  principle  that  every  effect  must  have  a  cause. 


456  CAUSALITY. 

But,"  saj/"  they,  "this  Being  himself  is  an  effect.  You  have  no 
evidence  from  reason  of  his  self-existence,  or  self-creation;  and  as 
he  does  exist,  you  must  assign  a  cause  of  him,  on  the  same  princi- 
ple that  you  regard  him  as  the  cause  of  the  material  creation." 
The  atheists  carry  this  argument  the  length  of  a  denial  of  God 
altogether,  in  respect  that  it  is  only  the  first  cause  that,  according 
to  them,  can  be  entitled  to  be  regarded  as  Deity  ;  and  the  first 
cause,  say  they,  is  to  us  unknown. 

This  speculation  may  be  answered  as  follows  :  Individuality 
perceives  existence  directly,  and  Causality  infers  qualities  from  their 
manifestations.  To  be  able  to  judge  thoroughly  of  any  object,  both 
of  these  faculties  require  to  be  employed  on  it.  When  a  watch, 
for  example,  is  presented,  Individuality,  and  the  other  Knowing 
Faculties,  perceive  its  wheels,  spring,  lever,  &c.  and  Causality 
discerns  their  object  or  design.  If  the  question  is  put.  Whence 
did  the  watch  proceed.''  From  the  nature  of  its  materials,  as  per- 
ceived by  the  knowing  faculties.  Causality  infers  that  it  could  not 
make  itself;  and  from  discovering  intelligence  and  design  in  the 
adaptation  of  its  parts,  this  faculty  concludes,  that  its  Cause  must 
have  possessed  these  qualities,  and  therefore  assigns  its  production 
to  an  intelligent  artificer.  Suppose  the  statement  to  be  next  made, 
— "This  artificer  himself  is  an  existence,  and  every  existence 
must  have  a  cause.  Who,  then,  made  the  watchmaker  .'"'  In  this 
case,  if  no  farther  information  were  presented  to  Causality  than  what 
it  could  obtain  by  contemplating  the  structure  of  the  watch,  the 
answer  would  necessarily  be,  that  it  could  not  tell.  But  let  the  arti- 
ficer, or  man,  be  submitted  to  the  joint  observation  of  Individuality 
and  Causality,  and  let  the  question  be  then  put.  Who  made  him? 
— Individuality  and  the  knowing  powers,  by  examining  the  struc- 
ture of  his  body,  would  present  Causality  with  data  from  which  it 
could  unerringly  infer,  that,  although  it  perceived  in  him  intelligence 
and  power  sufficient  to  make  the  watch,  yet,  from  the  nature  of  his 
constitution,  he  could  not  possibly  make  himself.  Proceeding  in 
the  investigation.  Causality,  still  aided  by  the  knowing  faculties, 
would  perceive  farther  the  most  striking  indications  of  power, 
benevolence,  and  design  in  the  human  frame;  and  from  contemplat- 


I 


CAUSALITY.  457 

ing  these,  it  would  arrive  at  a  complete  conviction,  that  the  watch- 
maker is  the  workmanship  of  a  great,  powerful,  and  intelligent 
Being.  If,  however,  the  question  Avere  repeated,  "Whence  did 
this  Being  proceed?"  Causality  could  not  answer.  It  would  then 
be  in  a  situation  similar  to  that  in  which  it  would  be  placed,  if  re- 
quired to  tell,  from  seeing  the  watch  alone,  who  made  the 
watchmaker.  Individuality  cannot  observe  the  substance  of  the 
Maker  of  the  human  body;  and  none  of  the  perceptive  faculties  can 
reach  him.  His  existence  is  the  object  of  Causality  alone;  and  all 
that  it  can  accomplish  is  to  infer  his  existence,  and  his  qualities  or 
attributes,  from  perceiving  their  manifestations.  I  have  stated  the 
argument  in  the  plainest  language,  but  with  perfect  reverence  ;  and 
we  are  arrived  at  the  conclusion,  that  this  faculty  is  silent  as  to 
the  cause  of  the  Creator  of  man,  and  cannot  tell  whether  he  is 
self-existent,  or  called  into  being  by  some  higher  power  ;  but  thus 
far  it  can  go,  and  it  draws  its  conclusions  unhesitatingly,  that  he 
must  exists  and  must  possess  the  attributes  which  it  perceives  mani- 
fested in  his  works  ;  and  these  points  being  certain,  it  declai-es  that 
he  is  God  to  us;  that  he  is  our  Creator  and  Preserver  ;  that  all  his 
qualities,  so  far  as  it  can  discover,  merit  our  profoundest  respect 
and  admiration;  and  that,  therefore,  he  is  to  man  the  highest  and 
most  legitimate  object  of  veneration  and  worship. 

It  has  been  objected  that  although  Causality  may  discover  that 
God  has  existed,  it  sees  no  evidence  that  he  note  exists. — The 
answer  to  this  remark  appears  to  me  to  be  that  the  manifestations 
of  his  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness  continue  to  be  presented  to 
Causality  every  moment,  and  that  it  has  no  data  for  concluding  that 
the  cause  of  them  has  ceased  while  they  remain  monuments  of 
His  Being. 

The  organ  is  established. 

58 


(  458  ) 


ADAPTATION  OF  THE  EXTERNAL  WORLD  TO  THE 
INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES  OF  MAN. 

The  human  mind  and  the  external  world,  having  emanated  from 
the  same  Creator,  ought,  when  understood,  to  be  found  wisely 
adapted  to  each  other ;  and  this  accordingly  appears  in  an  eminent 
degree,  to  be  the  case.  If  the  reader  will  direct  his  attention  to 
any  natural  or  artificial  pbject,  and  consider,  1st,  Its  existence; 
2d,  Its  form  ;  3d,  Its  size  ;  4th,  Its  weight ;  5th,  Its  locality,  or 
relations  in  space  to  other  objects  ;  6th,  The  number  of  its  parts ; 
7th,  The  order  or  physical  arrangement  of  its  parts  ;  8th,  The 
changes  which  it  undergoes  ;  9th,  The  periods  of  time  which 
these  require  ;  10th,  The  analogies  and  differences  between  the 
individual  under  consideration  and  other  individuals;  11th,  The 
effects  which  it  produces  ;  and,  lastly,  If  he  will  designate  this 
assemblage  of  ideas  by  a  name,  he  will  find  that  he  has  obtained  a 
tolerably  complete  notion  of  the  subject. 

This  order  ought  to  be  followed  in  teaching  the  sciences. 
Botany  and  Mineralogy  are  rendered  intolerably  tedious  and 
uninteresting  to  many  persons,  who  really  possess  sufficient  natural 
talents  for  studying  them,  by  names  and  classifications  being  erro- 
neously represented  as  the  chief  ends  to  be  attained.  A  better 
method  would  be,  to  make  the  pupil  acquainted  with  his  own 
mental  powers,  to  furnish  him  with  experimental  knowledge,  that 
these  stand  in  definite  relations  to  external  objects,  and  feel  a 
positive  pleasure  in  contemplating  them.  His  attention  ought 
then  to  be  directed  to  the  existence  of  the  object,  as  in  itself 
interesting  to  Individuality ;  to  its  form,  as  interesting  to  the  faculty 
of  Form ;  to  its  color,  as  pleasing  to  the  faculty  of  Color  ;  and  so 
on  with  its  other  qualities  ;  while  the  name,  order,  genus,  and 
species,  ought  to  be  taught  in  the  last  place,  as  merely  designative 
of  the  qualities  with  which  he  has  become  conversant.  Practice 
in  this  mode  of  tuition  will  establish  its  advantages.  The  mind 
which,  unexercised,  regarded  all  forms,  not  extravagantly  ugly  or 


MODES  OF  ACTIVITY  OF  THE  FACULTIES.  459 

beautifiJ,  with  indifference,  will  soon  experience  delight  in  dis- 
criminating minute  degrees  of  elegance  and  expression  ;  and  the 
same  effect  will  be  produced  by  following  a  similar  process  of 
cultivation  in  regard  to  the  other  powers.  The  larger  the  organs 
the  greater  will  be  the  delight,  but  even  with  a  moderate  develope- 
ment  much  may  be  attained.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  resort  to 
schools  and  colleges  for  this  exercise  of  the  intellect.  Objects 
of  nature  and  art  every  where  surround  us,  calculated  to  stimulate 
our  faculties  ;  and  if  the  reader,  as  he  walks  in  the  country  or  in 
the  town,  will  actively  apply  his  various  powers  in  the  manner 
nov/  pointed  out,  he  will  find  innumerable  sources  of  pleasure  with- 
in his  reach,  a 
classifications. 


MODES  OF  ACTIVITY  OF  THE  FACULTIES. 

All  the  faculties,  when  active  in  a  due  degree,  produce  actions 
good,  proper,  or  necessary.  It  is  excess  of  activity  that  occasions 
abuses  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  Phrenology  has  been  discovered 
only  in  consequence  of  some  individuals,  in  whom  particular 
organs  were  very  largely  developed,  having  yielded  to  the  strongest 
propensities  of  their  nature.  The  smallness  of  a  paiticular  organ  is 
not  the  cause  of  a  faculty  producing  abuses.  Although  the  organ 
of  Benevolence  be  small,  it  will  not  occasion  cruelty  ;  but,  as  it  will 
be  accompanied  with  indifference  to  the  miseries  of  others,  its 
deficiency  may  lead  to  the  omission  of  duties.  When,  also,  one 
organ  is  small,  abuses  may  result  from  another  being  left  without 
proper  restraint.  Thus,  large  organs  of  Acquisitiveness  and 
Secretiveness,  combined  with  small  organs  of  Reflection  and 
Conscientiousness,  may,  in  certain  circumstances,  lead  to  theft. 
Powerful  Combativeness  and  Destructiveness,  with  weak  Benevo- 
lence, may  produce  cruel  and  ferocious  actions. 


46Q,  MODES  OF   ACTIVITY 

Every  faculty,  when  in  action,  from  whatever  cause,  produces 
the  kind  of  feeling,  or  forms  the  kind  of  ideas,  already  explained 
as  resulting  from  its  natural  constitution. 

The  faculties  of  the  PROPENSITIES  and  SENTIMENTS 
cannot  be  excited  to  activity  directly  by  a  mere  act  of  the  will. 
For  example,  we  cannot  conjure  up  the  emotions  of  Fear,  Com- 
passion, Veneration,  by  merely  willing  to  experience  them.  These 
faculties,  however,  may  enter  into  action  from  an  internal  excite- 
ment of  the  organs  ;  and  then  the  desire  or  emotion  which  each 
produces  will  be  felt  whether  we  will  to  experience  it  or  not. 
Thus,  the  cerebellum  being  active  from  internal  causes,  produces 
the  corresponding  feeling  ;  and  this  cannot  be  avoided  if  the  organ 
be  excited.  We  have  it  in  our  power  to  permit  or  restrain  the 
manifestation  of  it  in  action  ;  but  we  have  no  option,  if  the  organ 
be  excited,  to  experience,  or  not  to  experience,  the  feeling  itself. 
The  case  is  the  same  with  the  organs  of  Fear,  Hope,  Veneration, 
and  the  others.  There  are  times  when  we  feel  involuntary  emo- 
tions of  fear,  or  hope,  or  awe,  ai'ising  in  us,  for  which  we  cannot 
account ;  and  s-jch  feelings  depend  on  the  internal  activity  of  the 
organs  of  these  sentiments. 

"  We  cannot  Nature  by  our  wishes  rule, 
Nor  at  our  will,  her  warm  emotions  cool." 

Crabbe. 

In  the  second  place,  these  faculties  may  be  called  into  action 
independently  of  the  will,  by  the  presentment  of  the  external  ob- 
jects fitted  by  nature  to  excite  them.  When  an  object  in  distress 
is  presented,  the  faculty  of  Benevolence  starts  into  activity,  and 
produces  the  feelings  which  depend  upon  it.  When  an  object 
threatening  danger  is  perceived.  Cautiousness  gives  an  instantaneous 
emotion  of  fear.  And  when  stupendous  objects  are  contemplated. 
Ideality  inspires  with  a  feeling  of  sublimity.  In  all  these  cases,  the 
power  of  acting,  or  of  not  acting,  is  dependent  on  the  will;  but  the 
power  of  feeling,  or  of  not  feeling,  is  not  so. 

"It  seems  an  unaccountable  pleasure,"  says  Hume,*  which  the 
*  Essay  22. 


OF  PROPENSITIES   AND  SENTIMENTS.  461 

spectators  of  a  well-written  tragedy  receive  from  sorrow,  terror, 
anxiety,  and  other  passions,  that  are  in  themselves  disagreeable  and 
uneasy.  The  more  they  are  touched  and  affected,  the  more  are 
they  delighted  with  the  spectacle.  The  whole  art  of  the  poet  is 
employed  in  rousing  and  supporting  the  compassion  and  indignation, 
the  anxiety  and  resentment  of  his  audience.  They  are  pleased  in 
proportion  as  they  are  afflicted,  and  never  are  so  happy  as  when 
they  employ  tears,  sobs  and  cries,  to  give  vent  to  their  sorrow, 
and  relieve  their  hearts,  swollen  with  the  tenderest  sympathy  and 
compassion." 

Many  volumes  have  been  written  to  solve  this  problem.  Those 
authors  who  deny  the  existence  of  benevolent  and  disinterested 
feelings  in  man,  maintain,  that  we  sympathize  with  Cato,  Othello, 
or  King  Lear,  because  we  conceive  the  possibility  of  ourselves 
being  placed  in  similar  situations,  and  that  then  all  the  feelings 
ai'ise  in  us  which  we  would  experience,  if  we  were  ourselves 
suffering  under  similar  calamities.  Mr.  Stewait,  who,  on  the 
other  hand,  admits  the  existence  of  generous  emotions  in  the 
human  mind,  states  it  as  his  theory,  that  we,  for  an  instant,  believe 
the  distress  to  be  real ;  and  under  this  belief  feel  the  compassion 
which  would  naturally  start  up  in  our  bosoms,  if  the  sufferings 
represented  were  actually  endured.  A  subsequent  act  of  judg- 
ment, he  says,  dispels,  in  an  almost  imperceptible  portion  of  time, 
the  illusion,  and  restrains  the  mind  from  acting  under  the  emotion  ; 
which,  if  the  belief  of  reality  continued,  it  would  certainly  do,  by 
running  to  the  relief  of  the  oppressed  hero  or  heroine;  but  still  he 
considers  that  a  momentary  belief  is  necessary  to  call  up  the 
emotions  which  we  experience. 

The  phrenological  doctrine  just  delivered  appears  to  me  to 
furnish  the  true  explanation.  Each  propensity  and  sentiment  may 
be  called  into  activity  by  presentment  of  its  object,  and,  when 
active,  the  corresponding  feeling  or  emotion  attends  it,  in  virtue 
of  its  constitution.  Happiness  consists  in  the  harmonious  gratifi- 
cation of  all  the  faculties  ;  and  the  very  essence  of  gratification  is 
activity.  "Thus  the  muscular  system,"  says  Dr.  A.  Combe, 
"  is  gratified  by  motion,  and  pleasure  arises;  the  eye  is  gratified 


462  MODES   OF  ACTIVITY 

hy  looking  at  external  objects  ;  Combativeness,  by  overcoming 
opposition  ;  Destructiveness,  by  the  sight  of  destruction,  and  the 
infliction  of  pain ;  Benevolence,  by  the  relief  of  suffering ;  Hope, 
by  looking  forward  to  a  happy  futurity ;  Cautiousness,  by  a  certain 
degree  of  uncertainty  and  anxiety,  &c.  As  the  degree  of  enjoy- 
ment corresponds  to  the  number  of  faculties  simultaneously  active 
and  gratified,  it  follovs^s,  that  a  tragic  scene,  which  affords  a  direct 
stimulus  to  several  of  the  faculties,  at  the  same  moment,  must  be 
agreeable,  whatever  these  may  be; — 1st,  If  it  does  not  at  the  same 
time,  outrage  any  of  the  other  feelings;  2dly,  If  it  does  not  excite 
any  faculty  so  intensely  as  to  give  rise  to  pain;  just  as  too  much 
light  hurts  the  eyes,  and  too  much  exertion  fatigues  the  muscles." 
In  the  play  of  Pizarro,  for  example,  when  the  child  is  introduced, 
its  aspect  and  situation  instantly  excite  Philoprogenitiveness,  and 
individuals  possessing  this  organ  largely,  feel  an  intense  interest  in 
it; — the  representation  of  danger  to  which  it  is  exposed  rouses 
Cautiousness,  producing  fear  for  its  safety;  when  Rolla  saves 
it,  this  fear  is  allayed,  Philoprogenitiveness  is  highly  delighted, 
Benevolence  also  is  gratified  ;  and  the  excitement  of  these  faculties 
is  pleasure.  All  this  internal  emotion  takes  place  simply  in  con- 
sequence of  the  constitution  of  the  faculties,  and  the  relation 
established  by  nature  betwixt  them  and  their  objects,  without  the 
understanding  requiring  to  be  imposed  upon,  or  to  form  any  theory 
about  the  scenes,  whether  they  are  real  or  fictitious.  A  picture 
raises  emotions  of  sublimity  or  beauty  on  the  same  principles. 
"The  cloud-capped  towers  and  gorgeous  palaces"  are  fitted  by 
nature  to  excite  Ideality,  Wonder,  and  Veneration ;  and  these 
being  active,  certain  emotions  of  delight  are  experienced.  When 
a  very  accurate  representation  of  these  towers  and  palaces  is 
executed  on  canvass,  their  appearance  in  the  picture  excites  thp 
same  faculties  into  action,  which  their  natural  lineaments  would 
call  up,  and  the  same  pleasures  kindle  in  the  soul.  But  what 
would  we  think,  if  Mr.  Stewart  assured  us  that  we  required  to 
believe  the  paint  and  the  canvass  to  be  real  stone  and  lime,  and  the 
figures  to  be  real  men  and  women,  before  we  could  enjoy  the 
scene.''     And  yet  this  would  be  as  reasonable  as  the  same  doctrine 


OF    PROPENSITIES   AND  SENTIMENTS.  463 

applied  to  tragedy.  We  may  weep  at  a  tragedy  represented  on 
canvass,and  know  all  the  while  that  there  are  only  colors  and  forms 
before  us.  On  the  same  principle  we  may  shed  tears  at  seeing  a 
tragedy  acted,  which  is  just  a  representation,  by  means  of  words 
and  gestures,  of  objects  calculated  to  rouse  the  faculties,  and  yet 
suffer  no  delusion  respecting  \he  reality  of  the  piece. 

If  the  propensities  and  sentiments  become  excessively  active 
from  these  representations,  they  may  overpower  the  intellect ',  a 
temporary  belief  may  follow;  and  the  feeling  will  be  the  stronger ; 
but,  in  this  case,  it  appears  to  me,  that  the  strong  emotion  does 
not  arise  from  a  previous  illusion  of  the  understanding ;  but  that 
misconception  in  the  intellect  is  the  consequence  of  the  feelings 
having  become  overwhelming. 

The  law  of  our  constitution  now  explained,  accounts  also  for 
several  of  the  phenomena  of  insanity.  All  the  organs  are  liable 
to  become  violently  and  involuntarily  active  through  disease ;  this 
produces  mental  excitement,  or  violent  desires,  to  act  in  the 
direction  of  the  diseased  organs.  If  Combativeness  and  Destruc- 
tiveness  be  affected  in  this  manner,  madness  or  fury,  which  is  just 
an  irresistible  propensity  to  violence  and  outrage,  will  ensue.  If 
the  organ  of  Cautiousness  become  involuntarily  and  permanently 
active  throjigh  disease,  fear  will  constantly  be  felt,  and  this  consti- 
tutes melancholy.  If  Veneration  and  Hope  be  excited  in  a  similar 
way,  the  result  will  be  involuntary  emotions  of  devotion,  the  live- 
liest joy  and  anticipations  of  bliss ;  which  feelings,  fixed  and 
immoveable,  amount  to  religious  insanity.  It  frequently  happens 
that  a  patient  is  insane  on  a  single  feeling  alone,  such  as  Fear, 
Hope,  or  Veneration,  and  that,  if  the  sphere  of  activity  of  this 
feeling  be  avoided,  the  understanding  on  other  subjects  shall  be 
sound,  and  the  general  conduct  of  the  patient  rational  and  consist- 
ent. Thus,  a  person  insane  in  Self-Esteem,  sometimes  imagines 
himself  a  King ;  but  on  all  other  topics  he  may  evince  sound  sense, 
and  consecutiveness  of  judgment.  This  results  from  the  organs 
of  intellect  being  sound,  and  only  the  organ  of  Self-Esteem 
diseased.  Sometimes  well-meaning  individuals,  struck  with  the 
clearness  of  the  understanding  in  such  patients,  set  themselves  to 


464  MODES   OF  ACTIVITY 

point  out,  by  means  of  argument,  the  erroneous  nature  of  the 
notions  under  which"  they  suffer,  supposing  that,  if  they  could 
convince  their  intellect  of  the  mistake,  the  disease  would  be  cured; 
but  the  malady  consists  in  an  unhealthy  action  of  the  organ  of  a 
sentiment  or  propensity,  and  as  long  as  the  disease  lasts,  the  insane 
feeling,  which  is  the  basis  of  the  whole  mental  alienation,  will 
remain,  and  argument  will  do  as  little  to  remove  it,  as  a  speech  in 
removing  gout  from  the  toe. 

The  converse  of  the  doctrine  now  explained,  also  holds  good  ; 
that  is  to  say,  if  the  organ  be  not  active,  the  propensity  or  emotion 
connected  with  it  cannot  be  felt ;  just  as  we  cannot  hear  a  sound 
when  the  auditory  apparatus  is  not  excited  by  the  air. 

The  most  important  practical  consequences  may  be  derived 
from  this  exposition  of  our  mental  constitution.  The  larger  any 
organ  is,  the  more  is  it  prepared  to  come  into  activity,  and  the 
smaller,  the  less  so.  Hence  an  individual  prone  to  violence,  to 
excessive  pride,  vanity,  or  avarice,  is  the  victim  of  an  unfavorable 
developement  of  brain ;  and  in  our  treatment  of  him  we  ought  to 
bear  this  fact  constantly  in  mind.  If  we  had  wished,  for  example, 
to  render  Bellingham  mild,  the  proper  proceeding  would  have 
been,  not  to  abuse  him  for  being  ill-tempered,  for  this  would  have 
directly  excited  his  Destructiveness,  the  largeness  of  which  was 
the  cause  of  his  wrath,  but  to  address  ourselves  to  his  Benevo- 
lence, Veneration,  and  Intellect,  that,  by  rousing  them,  we  might 
assuage  the  vehemence  of  Destructiveness.  In  a  case  hke  that 
of  David  Haggart,  in  whom  Conscientiousness  was  very  deficient, 
we  ought  always  to  bear  in  mind,  that  in  regard  to  feeling  the 
obligation  of  justice,  such  an  individual  is  in  the  same  state  of 
unhappy  deficiency  as  Mr.  Milne  is  in  perceiving  colors,  and 
Anne  Ormerod  in  perceiving  melody;  and  our  treatment  ought  to 
correspond.  We  would  never  think  of  supplying  Anne  Ormerod's 
deficiency  of  Tune  by  harsh  treatment;  and  if  Haggart 's  Con- 
scientiousness was  naturally  as  deficient,  we  could  as  little  have 
succeeded  in  enabling  him  to  feel  and  act  justly  by  mere  severity 
of  punishment.  The  reasonable  plan  in  such  cases  is,  first,  to 
place  the  individual  in  circumstances  as  little  as  possible  requiring 


OF   PROPENSITIES   AND   SENTIMENTS.  465 

the  exercise  of  the  deficient  faculty;  not  to  place  Anne  Ormerod 
in  a  band  of  singers;  nor  one  like  David  Haggart  in  a  confiden- 
tial situation,  where  property  is  entrusted  to  him.  In  the  next 
place,  to  present  to  all  the  organs  of  the  higher  sentiments  which 
he  possesses  largely  developed,  motives  calculated  to  control  the 
propensities,  so  as  to  supply,  as  much  as  possible,  the  place  of  the 
feeble  Conscientiousness. 

If  the  principle  that  large  organs  give  strong  desires,  and  small 
organs  weak  impulses,  be  correct.  Phrenology  must  be  calculated 
in  an  eminent  degree  to  be  practically  useful  in  society.  If,  in 
choosing  a  servant,  we  are  afraid  or  ashamed  to  examine  the  head, 
and  light  upon  one  with  a  brain  extremely  deficient,  like  that  of 
Mary  Macinnes,  and  if  certain  strong  animal  feelings  accompany 
this  developement,  we  shall  unquestionably  suffer  great  annoyance 
as  the  consequence.  If  we  select  a  servant  very  deficient  in  Con- 
scientiousness as  a  child's  maid,  she  will  labor  under  a  natural 
blindness  to  truth,  and  not  only  lie  herself,  but  teach  the  children 
entrusted  to  her  care  this  abominable  vice.  If  a  merchant  selects 
a  clerk  with  a  head  like  David  Haggart's,  and  places  money  at  his 
disposal,  the  strong  animal  feelings,  unrestrained  by  Conscientious- 
ness, will  prompt  him  to  embezzle  it.  It  is  incredible  to  what  an 
extent  evils  might  be  mitigated,  or  prevented  in  society,  by  the 
practical  application  of  this  principle.  I  have  applied  it  in  the 
selection  of  servants  with  great  advantage. 

In  the  next  place,  if  the  presentment  of  the  object  of  a  faculty 
rouses  it  into  instant  activity,  as  suffering  benevolence,  or  danger 
fear,  this  becomes  a  highly  important  principle  in  the  education  of 
children.  If  we  put  on  the  natural  language  of  Destructiveness 
and  Self-Esteem  in  our  intercourse  with  them,  we  shall  cultivate 
those  very  faculties  in  their  minds,  by  exciting  the  organs  ;  if  we 
manifest  Benevolence  and  Veneration  in  their  presence,  we  shall 
excite  the  same  faculties  in  them  ;  if  we  discourse  constantly  about 
money,  the  desire  of  increasing  it,  and  the  fear  of  losing  it,  we 
shall  stimulate  the  organs  of  Acquisitiveness,  and  Self-Esteem  in 
them,  and  increase  the  power  of  these  propensities. 

In  the  third  place,  The  faculties  of  which  we  are  now  speaking 
59 


466  MODES    OF   ACTIVITY 

may  be  excited  to  activity,  or  repressed,  indirectly,  by  an  effort 
of  the  will.  Thus,  the  Knowing  and  Reflecting  Faculties  have  the 
function  of  forming  ideas.  If  these  faculties  be  employed  to  con- 
ceive internally  objects  fitted  by  nature  to  excite  the  propensities 
and  sentiments,  the  latter  will  start  into  activity  in  the  same  manner, 
but  not  with  so  much  intensity  as  if  their  appropriate  objects  were 
externally  present.  For  example,  if  we  conceive  inwardly  an 
object  in  distress,  and  Benevolence  be  powerful,  compassion  wiU 
be  felt,  and  tears  will  sometimes  flow  from  the  emotion  produced. 
In  like  manner,  if  we  wish  to  repress  the  activity  of  Ideality,  we 
cannot  do  so  merely  by  willing  that  the  sentiment  be  quiet ;  but  if 
we  conceive  objects  fitted  to  excite  Veneration,  Fear,  Pride,  or 
Benevolence,  the  organs  of  these  feelings  will  then  be  excited, 
and  Ideality  wiU  sink  into  inactivity.  The  vivacity  of  the  feeling,  in 
such  cases,  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  strength  of  the  conception, 
and  the  energy  of  the   propensities    and   sentiments  together. 

If  the  organ  of  any  propensity  or  sentiment  enter  into  vigorous 
activity  from  internal  causes  it  will  prompt  the  intellectual  faculties 
to  form  conceptions  fitted  to  gratify  it ;  or,  in  other  words,  the 
habitual  subjects  of  thought  in  the  mind  are  determined  by  the  or- 
gans which  ai-e  predominantly  active  from  internal^  excitement.  If 
the  cerebellum  be  permanently  active,  the  individual  will  be  prone 
to  collect  pictures,  books  and  anecdotes,  fitted  to  gratify  this 
feeling  ;  his  mind  will  be  much  occupied  with  such  ideas,  and  they 
will  afford  him  dehght.  If,  in  another  individual,  Constructiveness, 
Ideality  and  Imitation,  be  internally  active,  he  will  desire  to  see 
pictures,  busts,  and  works  of  art,  in  which  skill,  beauty  and  ex- 
pression, are  combined ;  or  he  will  take  pleasure  in  inventing  and 
constructing  them.  He  will  know  much  about  such  objects,  be 
fond  of  possessing  them,  and  of  talking  of  them.  If,  in  another 
individual,  Acquisitiveness  be  internally  active,  he  will  feel  a  great 
and  natural  interest  in  all  matters  connected  with  wealth,  and  be 
inspired  with  an  eager  curiosity  to  know  the  profits  of  different 
branches  of  trade,  and  the  property  possessed  by  diiFerent  individ- 
uals. If  Benevolence  be  internally  active,  the  mind  will  run 
habitually  on  schemes  of  philanthropy,  such  as  those  of  Howard, 


OF   PROPENSITIES   AND   SENTIMENTS.  467 

Mr.  Owen,  or  Mrs.  Fry.  In  these  cases,  the  liking  ior  the  object 
or  pursuit  may  depend  upon  the  particular  propensities  or  senti- 
ments which  are  active  ;  the  intellectual  faculties  serving  as  the 
ministering  instruments  of  their  gratification;  or  it  may  arise  from  the 
activity  of  the  intellectual  faculties  themselves,  if  the  pursuit  is 
purely  intellectual,  such  as  the  study  of  mathematics  or  Algebra. 

These  principles  explain  readily  the  great  variety  of  taste  and 
dispositions  among  mankind  ;  for  in  no  two  individuals  is  exactly 
the  same  combination  of  organs  to  be  found,  and  hence  every  one 
is  inspired  with  feehngs  in  some  degree  peculiar  to  himself,  and 
desires  objects  fitted  for  his  special  gratification. 

As  the  faculties  of  the  Propensities  and  Sentiments  do  not  form 
Ideas,  and  as  it  is  impossible  to  excite  or  recall  directly  by  an  act 
of  the  will,  the  feelings  or  emotions  produced  by  them,  it  follows 
that  these  faculties  have  not  the  attributes  of  Perception,  Concep- 
tion, Memory,  Imagination  :  They  have  the  attribute  of  Sensation 
alone  ;  that  is  to  say,  when  they  are  active,  a  sensation  or  emotion 
is  experienced.  Hence  Sensation  is  an  accompaniment  of  the 
activity  of  all  the  faculties  which  feel,  and  of  the  nervous  system 
in  general ;  but  sensation  is  not  a  faculty  itself. 

The  laws  of  the  KNOWING  and  REFLECTING  faculties 
are  different :  These  faculties  form  Ideas,  and  perceive  Relations  ; 
they  are  subject  to  the  will,  or  rather  constitute  will  themselves, 
and  minister  to  the  gratification  of  the  other  faculties  which  only 
feel. 

1st,  These  faculties,  also,  may  be  active  from  excitement  of  the 
organs  by  internal  causes,  and  then  the  kinds  of  ideas  which  they 
are  fitted  to  form  are  presented  involuntarily  to  the  mind.  The 
musician  feels  the  notes  flowing  on  him  uncalled  for.  A  man  in 
whom  Number  is  powerful  and  active  calculates  by  a  natural 
impulse.  He  in  whom  Form  is  vigorous,  conceives  figures  by 
internal  inspiration.  He  in  whom  Causality  is  powerful  and 
active,  reasons  while  he  thinks,  without  an  effort.  He  in  whom 
Wit  is  energetic,  feels  witty  conceptions  flowing  into  his  mind 
spontaneously,  and  even  at  times  and  places  when  he  would  wish 
them  not  to  appear. 


468  MODES   OF  ACTIVITY 

2dly,  These  faculties  may  be  excited  by  the  presentation  of 
external  objects  fitted  to  call  them  into  activity  ;  and, 

3dly,  They  may  be  excited  to  activity  by  an  act  of  volition. 

When  excited  by  the  presentation  of  external  objects,  the 
objects  are  perceived,  and  this  act  is  called  PERCEPTION. 
Perception  is  the  lowest  degree  of  activity  of  these  faculties  ;  and 
if  no  idea  is  formed  when  the  object  is  presented,  the  individual  is 
destitute  of  the  power  of  manifesting  the  faculty,  whose  function  s 
to  perceive  objects  of  that  kind.  Thus,  when  tones  are  produced, 
he  who  cannot  perceive  the  melody  of  them,  is  destitute  of  the 
power  of  manifesting  the  faculty  of  Tune.  When  a  colored 
object  is  presented,  and  the  individual  cannot  perceive,  so  as  to 
distinguish  the  tints,  he  is  destitute  of  the  power  of  manifesting 
the  faculty  of  color.  When  the  steps  of  an  argument  are  logi- 
cally and  distinctly  stated,  he  who  cannot  perceive  the  relation 
betwixt  the  steps,  and  the  necessity  of  the  conclusion,  is  destitute 
of  the  power  of  manifesting  the  faculty  of  Causality  ;  and  so  on. 
Thus  Perception  is  a  mode  of  action  of  the  faculties  which  form 
ideas,  and  implies  the  lowest  degree  of  activity  ;  but  Perception  is 
not  a  separate  faculty. 

This  doctrine  is  not  theoretical,  but  is  clearly  indicated  by 
facts.  In  the  case  mentioned  by  Mr.  Hood,*  a  patient  having 
lost  the  memory  of  words,  yet  enjoyed  perception  of  their  mean- 
ing. He  understood  language  spoken  by  others,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  organ  of  Language  retained  so  much  of  its  power  as  to 
enable  him  to  perceive  the  meaning  of  words  when  presented  to  his 
mind,  but  so  little  of  its  energy  as  not  to  be  adequate  to  the  act  of 
recalling  words  by  an  act  of  his  will,  so  as  to  express  his  thoughts. 
The  case  of  Mr.  Ferguson  f  is  another  in  point.  He  enjoyed  so 
great  a  degree  of  the  organ  of  Size  as  to  enable  him  to  perceive 
distance  when  natural  scenery  was  presented  to  his  mind,  but  so 
little  as  to  be  quite  unable  to  recollect  it,  when  the  objects  were 
withdrawn.  Mr.  Sloane  |  is  in  a  similar  situation  in  regard  to 
coloring.  He  perceives  the  differences  of  hues  when  they  are 
presented  to  his  eyes,  but  has  so  little  of  the  organ  that  he  does 

•Page  430.  t  Page  366.  t  Page  378. 


OF  INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES.  469 

not  recollect,  so  as  to  be  able  to  name,  them  separately.  Many- 
persons  are  in  a  similar  condition  in  regard  to  music  ;  they  per- 
ceive melody  and  enjoy  it,  when  presented  to  the  ear,  but  have 
so  little  of  the  faculty  of  Tune  as  to  be  unable  to  recall  the  notes 
after  they  have  ceased  to  be  heard.  The  same  hold  in  regard  to 
the  reflecting  powers.  Many  persons  possess  faculties  acute  and 
vigorous  enough  to  perceive  an  argument,  if  placed  before  them, 
who  are  quite  incapable  of  inventing  or  even  reproducing  it  them- 
selves. 

Here,  again,  a  highly  valuable  practical  result  presents  itself. 
If  we  place  a  person  with  a  forehead  like  Eraser's,  in  whom  the 
reflecting  organs  are  deficient,  in  a  situation,  or  apply  to  him  for 
advice  in  circumstances,  requiring  great  natural  sagacity  and  depth 
of  intellect,  we  shall  assuredly  be  disappointed ;  whereas,  if  we 
apply  to  one  having  such  a  combination  as  Dr.  Franklin,  in  whom 
reflection  was  very  large,  there  will  be  much  more  of  the  instinct- 
ive capacity  of  tracing  out  beforehand  the  probable  chain  of  Caus- 
ation, and  anticipating  the  effects  of  measures  which  we  propose 
to  follow.  Fraser  might  show  good  sense  and  sound  judgment 
after  the  consequences  were  pointed  out  to  him,  because  he  pos- 
sesses developement  sufficient  to  give  him  perception  of  causation 
when  presented;  but  he  could  not,  like  Franklin,  anticipate  effects, 
as  this  requires  a  higher  degree  of  power. 

According  to  this  view  of  Perception,  which  regards  it  as  the 
lowest  state  of  activity  of  every  intellectual  faculty,  an  individual 
may  possess  acute  powers  of  perception  as  to  one  class  of  objects, 
and  be  quite  unable  to  perceive  others.  Thus  Mr.  Milne  had  an 
acute  perception  of  form,  although  he  cannot  perceive  some  colors; 
other  individuals  perceive  symmetry  distinctly  who  cannot  per- 
ceive melody.  This  exposition  has  the  merit  of  coinciding  with 
nature ;  for  we  frequently  meet  with  such  examples  as  I  have  now 
cited. 

The  metaphysicians,  on  the  other  hand,  treat  of  perception  as 
a  general  faculty^  and  when  their  doctrine  is  apphed  to  nature, 
the  extraordinary  spectacle  is  presented  of  their  general  poicer 
performing   in   the  same  individual  half  its  functions  with  great 


470  MODES  OF  ACTIVITY 

effect,  while  it  is  wholly  inefficient  as  to  the  other  half ;  just  as  if 
a  leg  could  walk  east  and  be  quite  incapable  of  walking  west.  Dr. 
Thomas  Brown  has  abandoned  this  absurdity;  and  differs  from 
Reid,  Stewart,  and  all  his  predecessors,  in  denying  perception  to 
be  any  thing  more  than  an  act  of  the  general  power  of  the  mind. 
We  call  it  an  act  of  several  special  faculties  of  the  mind  ;  but  with 
these  Dr.  Brown  was  not  acquainted. 

CONCEPTION.  When  the  Knowing  or  Reflecting  organs 
are  powerfully  active  from  internal  excitement,  whether  by  the 
will  or  from  natural  activity,  ideas  are  vividly  and  rapidly  con- 
ceived ;  and  the  act  of  forming  them  is  styled  CONCEPTION  ; 
if  the  act  amounts  to  a  very  high  degree  of  vivacity,  it  is  called 
IMAGINATION.  Thus  perception  is  the  lowest  degree  of 
activity  of  any  of  these  faculties  excited  by  an  external  object ;  and 
conception  or  imagination  are  higher  degrees  of  activity  depending 
on  internal  causes,  and  without  the  interference  of  an  external 
object.  Each  faculty  performs  the  act  of  conception  in  its  own 
sphere.  Thus,  if  one  person  have  a  powerful  organ  of  Tune,  he  is 
able  to  conceive,  or  call  up  in  his  own  mind,  the  notes  of  a  tune, 
when  no  instrument  is  sounding  in  his  ears.  If  his  organ  of  Form 
be  very  small,  he  may  not  be  able  to  bring  shapes  before  his  mind 
with  equal  facility.  Some  persons  read  music  like  a  book,  the 
written  sign  of  a  note  being  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  call  up  the 
impression  of  the  note  itself  in  their  minds.  This  is  a  very  high 
degree  of  activity  of  the  faculty.  Temperament  has  a  great  effect 
on  internal  activity;  the  lymphatic  temperament  requires  external 
objects  to  rouse  it  to  vivid  action,  while  the  sanguine  and  nervous 
glow  with  spontaneous  and  constitutional  vivacity.  Hence  imagi- 
nation, which  results  from  a  high  degree  of  activity,  is  rarely  found 
with  a  temperament  purely  lymphatic,  but  becomes  exalted  in  pro- 
portion to  the  approach  of  the  temperament  to  the  nervous. 

In  treating  of  Coloring,  I  cited  a  passage  from  Mr.  Stewart,  in 
which,  after  stating  the  fact  that  some  men  are  able  to  distinguish 
different  tints  when  presented  together,  who  cannot  name  them 
when  separate,  he  attributes  this  want  of  discrimination  to  defect 


OF  INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES.  471 

in  the  power  of  conception,  probably  arising,  he  supposes,  from 
early  habits  of  inattention.  So  far  he  is  correct :  an  individual 
like  Mr.  Sloane  may  be  found,  whose  organ  of  Coloring  enables 
him  to  distinguish  hues  when  seen  in  juxta-position,  and  is  yet  so 
weak  as  not  to  give  him  conception  or  memory  of  them  when  seen 
apart,  and  this  would  certainly  indicate  a  deficient  power  of  con- 
ception; but  then  the  power  of  conception  may  be  deficient  in  this 
faculty  alone,  and  very  vigorous  in  all  the  others.  On  Mr.  Stew- 
art's principle,  that  conception  is  a  general  power,  we  would  have 
the  anomaly  of  its  performmg  one  portion  of  its  functions  well, 
while  deficient  as  to  another,  which  defect  is  accounted  for  by  him, 
by  supposing  early  habits  of  inattention  ;  whereas  if  a  faculty  be 
naturally  strong,  it  eagerly  attends  to  its  objects,  just  as  a  vigorous 
and  empty  stomach  desires  food. 

When  any  of  the  Knowing  or  Reflecting  organs  is  internally 
active,  the  mind  conceives,  or  is  presented  with  ideas  of  the  ob- 
jects which  it  is  fitted  to  perceive.  Thus  Locality,  Coloring,  and 
Size,  being  active,  we  are  able,  with  our  eyes  closed,  to  conceive 
a  landscape  in  all  its  details  of  hill  and  dale,  sunshine  and  shade. 
If  this  internal  activity  become  morbid,  through  disease  of  the 
organs,  then  ideas  become  fixed,  and  remain  involuntarily  in  the 
mind  ;  and  if  this  is  long  continued,  it  constitutes  insanity.  Many 
persons  have  experienced,  when  in  the  dark,  vivid  impressions  of 
figures  of  every  variety  of  color  and  form  passing  before  the  mind, 
sometimes  invested  in  alarming  brilHancy  and  vivacity.  I  conclude 
that  this  arises  from  an  internal  excitement  of  the  organs  situated 
at  the  supercihary  ridge,  viz.  Form,  Locality,  Coloring,  &c.  oc- 
casioned generally  by  an  unusual  accumulation  of  blood.  This 
affection  is,  in  most  instances,  only  momentary ;  but  suppose  that 
it  were  to  become  fixed  and  continuous,  then  the  mind  would  be 
haunted  with  permanent  and  vivid  conceptions  of  innumerable  and 
fantastic  beings,  invested  with  more  than  the  forms  and  hues  of 
reality.  This  would  be  insanity ;  not  a  diseased  feeling,  such  as 
melancholy,  or  fury,  or  religious  joy,  but  an  intellectual  delusion ; 
so  that  every  sentiment  might  be  sound,  and  yet  this  aberration  of 
intellect  remain  fixed  and  immovable  by  the  will.     If  we  suppose 


472  MODES  OF  ACTIVITY 

this  disease  to  take  place  in  several  Knowing  organs,  leaving  the 
organs  of  Reflection  entire,  it  is  quite  possible  to  imagine  that  the 
individual  may  have  false  perceptions  on  some  points,  and  not  only 
be  sane  on  all  others,  but  be  able,  by  means  of  the  faculties  that 
remain  unaffected,  to  distinguish  the  erroneous  Impressions. 

The  phenomena  of  apparitions,  or  spectral  illusions,  may  be 
accounted  for  by  the  principles  now  explained.  If  several  organs 
becojjie  active  through  internal  excitement,  they  produce  involun- 
tary conceptions  of  outward  objects,  invested  in  all  the  attributes 
of  Form,  Color,  and  Size,  which  usually  distinguish  reality.  Sev- 
eral interesting  examples  of  this  affection  are  given  in  the  Phreno- 
logical Journal.* 

The  Knowing  organs,  and  the  organ  of  Wonder,  seem  to  be 
the  chief  seats  of  these  diseased  perceptions,  which  appears  obvious 
from  the  descriptions  of  the  apparitions  themselves.  Thus  Nico- 
lai,  the  Berlin  bookseller,  saw  the  form  as  of  a  deceased  person 
within  eight  steps  of  him — vast  numbers  of  human  and  other  forms 
equally  in  the  day  and  night — crowds  of  both  sexes — people  on 
horseback,  birds  and  dogs — of  natural  size,  and  distinct  as  if  alive, 
— of  natural  color,  but  paler  than  reality^  He  then  began  to  hear 
them  talk.  On  being  blooded  with  leeches,  the  room  was  crowd- 
ed with  spectres — in  a  few  hours  their  color  began  to  fade,  but  in 
a  few  more  they  were  white.  They  dissolved  in  air,  mid  fragments 
of  them  were  visible  for  some  time.  Dr.  Alderson  of  Hull  fur- 
nishes two  other  cases.  Mr.  R.  left  his  wife  and  family  in 
America,  but  saw  them  and  conversed  with  them  in  this  country — 
saw  trains  of  living  and  dead  persons — in  a  bright  brass  lock  again 
saw  his  transatlantic  friends,  and  always  in  that  lock — had  violent 
headache.  A  pothouse-keeper  in  Hull  saw  a  soldier  in  his  cellar 
whom  he  endeavored  to  seize,  but  found  an  illusion — attempted  to 
take  up  oysters  from  the  ground,  which  were  equally  unreal — saw 
crowds  of  the  living  and  dead — scarcely  knew  real  from  spectral 
customers — suffered  repeated  flogging  from  a  wagoner  with  a 
whip,  who  was  an  illusion.     In  Vol.  II.  of  the  Journal,  page  111, 

*  Vol.  i.  p.  541,  and  vol.  ii.  pp.  Ill,  293,  362 


OF  INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES.  473 

is  given  the  case  of  a  man  in  the  west  of  Scotland,  with  a  large  organ 
of  Wonder,  who  sees  inanimate  things  and  persons  in  visions — had 
a  spotted  carpet  for  a  long  time  before  his  eyes — a  funeral — a  log 
of  wood  on  wheels.  His  son  has  the  same  tendency — he  followed 
a  beggar,  who  glided  and  vanished  into  a  wall.  All  these  percep- 
tions are  clearly  referrible  to  the  Knowing  organs. 

Mr.  Simpson  has  communicated  to  the  Phrenological  Journal 
the  following  case,  which  is  particularly  interesting  and  instructive. 
Concomitance  of  pain  in  the  precise  seats  of  the  organs,  with  dis- 
order of  their  functions,  forms  a  striking  feature  in  it ;  and  the 
author  states,  that  he  is  ready  to  afford  the  means  of  verification 
of  the  facts  to  any  philosophical  inquirer. 

"Miss  S.  L.,"  says  Mr.  Simpson,  "a  young  lady,  under 
twenty  years  of  age,  of  good  family,  well  educated,  free  from  any 
superstitious  fears,  and  in  perfect  general  health  of  body  and  sound- 
ness of  mind,  has  nevertheless  been  for  some  years  occasionally 
troubled,  both  in  the  night  and  in  the  day,  with  visions  of  persons 
and  inanimate  objects,  in  almost  all  the  modes  and  forms  which  we 
have  already  related.  She  was  early  subject  to  such  illusions  oc- 
casionally, and  the  first  she  remembers  was  that  of  a  carpet  spread 
out  in  the  air,  which  descended  near  her,  and  vanished  away. 

"  After  an  interval  of  some  years,  she  began  to  see  human 
figures  in  her  room  as  she  lay  wide  awake  in  bed,  even  in  the  day- 
light of  the  morning.  These  figures  were  whitish,  or  rather  gray 
and  transparent  like  cobweb,  and  generally  above  the  size  of  life. 
At  this  time  she  had  acute  headaches,  very  singularly  confined  to 
one  small  spot  of  the  head  ;  on  being  asked  to  point  out  the  spot, 
the  utmost  care  being  taken  not  to  lead  her  to  the  answer,  our 
readers  may  judge  of  our  feelings  as  phrenologists,  when  she 
touched  with  her  fore-finger  and  thumb,  each  side  of  the  root  of 
the  nose,  the  commencement  of  the  eyebrows,  and  the  spot  imme- 
diately over  the  top  of  the  nose,  the  ascertained  seats  of  the  organs 
of  Form,  Size,  and  Lower  Individuality !  Here,  particularly  on 
each  side  of  the  root  of  the  nose,  she  said  the  sensation  could  only 
be  compared  to  that  of  running  sharp  knives  into  the  part.  The 
pain  increased  when  she  held  her  head  down,  and  was  much 
60 


474  MODES  OF  ACTIVITY 

relieved  by  holding  her  face  upwards.*  Miss  S.  L.  on  being  asked 
if  the"^pain  was  confined  to  that  spot,  answered,  that  some  time  after- 
wards the  pain  extended  to  right  and  left  along  the  eyebrows ^  and 
a  little  above  them^  and  completely  round  the  eyes,  ivhichfelt  often 
as  if  they  would  burst  from  their  sockets.  When  this  happened, 
her  visions  were  varied  precisely  as  the  phrenologist  would  have 
anticipated,  and  she  detailed  the  progress  without  a  single  leading 
question.  Weight,  Coloring,  Order,  Number,  Locality,  all  became 
affected ;  and  let  us  observe  what  happened.  The  whitish  or 
cobweb  spectres  assumed  the  natural  color  of  the  objects,  but  they 
continued  often  to  present  themselves,  though  not  always,  above 
the  size  of  life.  She  saw  a  beggar  one  day  out  of  doors,  natural 
in  size  and  color,  who  vanished  as  she  came  up  to  the  spot. 
Coloring,  being  over-excited,  began  to  occasion  its  specific  and 
fantastical  illusions.  Bright  spots,  like  stars  on  a  black  ground, 
filled  the  room  in  the  dark,  and  even  in  daylight ;  and  sudden  and 
sometimes  gradual  illumination  of  the  room  during  the  night  often 
took  place,  so  that  the  furniture  in  it  became  visible.  Innumerable 
balls  of  fire  seemed  one  day  to  pour  like  a  torrent  out  of  one  of  the 
rooms  of  the  house  down  the  staircase.  On  one  occasion,  the  pain 
between  the  eyes,  and  along  the  lower  ridge  of  the  brow,  struck 
her  suddenly  with  great  violence, — when,  instantly,  the  room  filled 
with  stars  and  bright  spots.  On  attempting,  on  that  occasion,  to 
go  to  bed,  she  said  she  was  conscious  of  an  inability  to  balance 
herself,  as  if  she  had  been  tipsy,  and  she  fell,  having  made  repeat- 
ed efforts  to  seize  the  bedpost ;  which,  in  the  most  unaccountable 
manner,  eluded  her  grasp,  by  shifting  its  place,  and  also  by  pre- 
senting her  with  a  number  of  bedposts  instead  of  one.  If  the  organ 
of  Weight,  situated  between  Size  and  Coloring,  be  the  organ  of 
the  instinct  to  preserve,  and  power  of  preserving  equilibrium,  it 
must  be  the  necessary  consequence  of  the  derangement  of  that 
organ  to  overset  the  balance  of  the  person.  Over-excited  JVYtrntcr, 
we  should  expect  to  produce  multipHcation  of  objects,  and  the 
first  experience  she  had  of  this  illusion  was  the  multiplication  of 
the  bedposts,  and  subsequently  of  any  inanimate  object  she  looked 
*  Quere, — Does  not  this  look  like  a  pressure  of  blood  on  that  region  of  the  brain  ? 


OF  INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES.  475 

at — that  object  being  in  itself  real  and  single  ; — a  book,  a  footstool, 
a  work-box,  would  increase  to  twenty,  or  fifty,  sometimes  without 
order  or  arrangement,  and  at  other  times  piled  regularly  one  above 
another.  Such  objects  deluded  her  in  another  way,  by  increasing 
in  sire,  as  she  looked  at  them,  to  the  most  amazing  excess, — again, 
resuming  their  natural  size — less  than  which  they  never  seemed  to 
become, — and  again  swelling  out.  Locality,  over-excited,  gave 
her  the  illusion  of  objects,  which  she  had  been  accustomed  to 
regard  as  fixed,  being  out  of  their  places  ;  and  she  thinks,  hut  is 
not  sure^  that,  on  one  occasion,  a  door  and  window  in  one  apart- 
ment seemed  to  have  changed  places, — but,  as  she  added,  she 
might  have  been  deceived  by  a  mirror.  This  qualification  gave  us 
the  more  confidence  in  her  accuracy,  when,  as  she  did  with  regard 
to  all  her  other  illusions,  she  spoke  more  positively.  She  had  not 
hitherto  observed  a  great  and  painful  confusion  in  the  visions  which 
visited  her,  so  as  to  entitle  us  to  infer  the  derangement  of  Order. 
Individuality.,  Form,  Size,  Weight,  Coloring,  Locality,  and 
JVumber  only,  seemed  hitherto  affected. 

"  For  nearly  two  years,  Miss  S.  L.  was  free  from  her  frontal 
headaches,  and  —  mark  the  coincidence — untroubled  by  visions,  or 
any  other  illusive  perceptions.  Some  months  ago,  however,  all 
her  distressing  symptoms  returned  in  great  aggravation,  when  she 
was  conscious  of  a  want  of  health.*  The  pain  was  more  acute  than 
before  along  the  frontal  bone,  and  round  and  in  the  eyeballs  ;  and 
all  the  organs  there  situated  recommenced  their  game  of  illusion. 
Single  figures  of  absent  and  deceased  friends  were  terribly  real  to 
her,  both  in  the  day  and  the  night,  sometimes  cobweb,  but  generally 
colored.  She  sometimes  saw  friends  on  the  street,  who  proved 
phantoms  when  she  approached  to  speak  to  them ;  and  instances 
occurred  where,  from  not  having  thus  satisfied  herself  of  the  illu- 
sion, she  affirmed  to  such  friends,  that  she  had  seen  them  in  certain 
places,  at  certain  times,  when  they  proved  to  her  the  clearest  alibi. 
The  confusion  of  her  spectral  forms  now  distressed  her. — (Order 
affected.)     The  oppression  and  perplexity  was    intolerable  when 

*  Constitutional  irregularity  would,  it  is  very  probable,  explain  the  whole  dis- 
order. 


476  MODES  OF  ACTIVITY 

figures  presented  themselves  before  her  in  inextricable  disorder, 
and  still  more  when  they  changed — as  with  Nicolai — from  whole 
figures  to  parts  of  figures — faces,  and  half-faces,  and  limbs, — some- 
times of  inordinate  size  and  dreadful  deformity.  One  instance  of 
illusive  Disorder,  which  she  mentioned,  is  curious  ;  and  has  the 
farther  effect  of  exhibiting  (what  cannot  be  put  in  terms  except 
those  of)  the  derangement  of  the  just  perception  of  gravitation  or 
equilibrium  ( Weight) .  One  night  as  she  sat  in  her  bed-room,  and 
was  about  to  go  to  bed,  a  stream  of  spectres,  persons'  faces,  limbs, 
in  the  most  shocking  confusion,  seemed  to  her  to  pour  into  her 
room  from  the  window,  in  the  manner  of  a  cascade!  Although 
the  cascade  continued  apparently  in  rapid  descending  motion,  there 
was  no  accumulation  of  figures  in  the  room,  the  supply  unaccount- 
ably vanishing  after  having  formed  the  cascade.  Colossal  figures 
are  her  frequent  visitors.      (Size,) 

"  Real  but  inanimate  objects  have  assumed  to  her  the  form 
of  animals  ;  and  she  has  often  attempted  to  lift  articles  from  the 
ground,  which,  like  the  oysters  in  the  pot-house  cellar,  eluded  her 
grasp. 

"  More  recently  she  has  experienced  a  great  aggravation  of  her 
alarms ;  for,  hke  Nicolai,  she  began  to  hear  her  spectral  visitors 
speak  ! — With  Mr.  R.  of  Hull,  the  spectres  always  spoke.  At 
first  her  crowds  kept  up  a  buzzing  and  indescribable  gibbering,  and 
occasionally  joined  in  a  loud  and  terribly  disagreeable  laugh,  w^hich 
she  could  only  impute  to  fiends.  These  unwelcome  sounds  were 
generally  followed  by  a  rapid  and  always  alarming  advance  of  the 
figures,  which  often  on  those  occasions  presented  very  large  and 
fearful  faces,  with  insufferable  glaring  eyes  close  to  her  own.  All 
self-possession  then  failed  her,  and  the  cold  sweat  of  terror  stood 
on  her  brow.  Her  single  figures  of  the  deceased  and  absent  then 
began  to  gibber,  and  soon  more  distinctly  to  address  her  ;  but  ter- 
ror has  hitherto  prevented  her  from  understanding  what  they  said.* 

*  We  may  here  mention,  that  the  phrenological  explanations  of  the  distressing 
affection  which  have  been  given  Miss  S.  L.,  have  had  the  happy  effect  of  afford- 
ing her  much  more  composure  when  visited  by  her  phantoms  than  she  thought 
possible.  She  is  still  terrified  with  their  speaking;  but  her  mind,  on  the  whole, 
is  greatly  eased  on  the  subject. 


OF  INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES.  477 

"Of  the  other  illusive  perceptions  of  Miss  S.  L.  we  may  men- 
tion the  sensation  of  being  lifted  up.)  and  of  sinking  down.,  and 
falling  forward^  with  the  puzzling  perception  of  objects  off  their 
perpendicular  ;  for  example,  the  room^  floor  and  all,  sloping  to  one 
side.     (Weight)." 

Mr.  Simpson  concludes,  hy  remarkmg  "how  curiously  the  old- 
estabhshed  phenomena  of  ghosts  are  seriatim  explained  by  this  case. 
White  or  gray  ghosts — the  gray  bodach  of  M''Ivor  in  Waverley, — 
result  from  excited  Form,  with  quiescent  Coloring,  the  transparent 
cobweb  effect  being  colorless.  Pale  spectres  and  shadowy  yet 
colored  forms,  are  the  effect  of  partially  excited  Coloring.  Tall 
ghosts  and  dwarf  goblins  are  the  illusions  of  over-excited  Size. 
Creusa  appeared  to  JEneas  colossal  in  her  size  :  — 

"  InfeTix  simulacrum  atque  ipsius  umbra  Creusce 
Visa  mihi  ante  oeulos  et  nota  major  imago?'' 

"  The  ghosts  of  Ossian  are  often  colossal.  Gibbering  and 
speaking  ghosts,  with  an  unearthly  confusion  of  tongues  and  fiend- 
like peals  of  laughter,  as  if  the  demons  revelled,  are  illusions  which 
many  have  experienced." 

The  illusions  of  the  English  opium-eater  are  no  longer  a  horrible 
mystery ;  they  are  explained  in  Mr.  Simpson's  paper  here  alluded 
to. 

There  are  persons  who  imagine  themselves  to  be  made  of  glass, 
and  who  refuse  to  sit  down,  or  assume  any  position,  in  which  glass 
would  not  be  safe,  lest  they  should  break  their  bodies  in  pieces  ; 
others  have  conceived,  that  some  object  was  attached  to  their 
nose,  or  that  some  figure  was  impressed  upon  their  forehead  ;  who 
in  every  other  respect  were  sound  in  mind.  Such  aberrations 
appear  to  be  fixed  and  permanent  conceptions  of  a  diseased  nature, 
resulting  from  morbid  and  involuntary  activity  of  the  organs  of  the 
Knowing  Faculties.  The  cure  will  be  accomplished  by  removing 
the  organic  cause,  and  not  by  a  logical  demonstration  that  the  object 
does  not  exist,  fitted  perhaps  to  convince  a  sound  understanding, 
but  altogether  inapplicable  to  the  removal  of  illusions  springing 
from  a  diseased  brain. 


478  MODES  OF  ACTIVITY 

Another  form  of  mental  derangement,  arising  from  internal  ex- 
citement of  the  organs,  is  the  tendency  to  involuntary  and  some- 
times unconscious  manifestation  of  the  faculties.  Some  insane  pa- 
tients talk  night  and  day  to  themselves  ;  and  in  hysterical  affections, 
the  individual  often  alternately  laughs  and  cries  involuntarily.  The 
last  phenomena  are  explicable  by  the  supposition  of  different  organs 
becoming  active  and  quiescent  in  turns,  in  consequence  of  spas- 
modic or  some  other  irregular  action  in  the  brain.  Dr.  A.  Combe 
saw  a  lady  in  Paris,  who,  when  just  emerging  from  insensibility, 
occasioned  by  a  fit  of  apoplexy,  manifested  the  faculties  of  Wit  and 
Imitation  quite  unconsciously,  but  with  so  admirable  an  effect,  that 
her  relations  were  forced  into  fits  of  laughter,  mingled  with  floods 
of  tears  for  her  unhappy  condition :  on  her  recovery,  she  did  not 
know  of  the  exhibitions  she  had  made.  The  organs  of  Wit  and 
Imitation  were  large.  Phrenology  accounts  for  such  facts,  in  a 
simple  and  natural  manner,  by  the  effects  of  diseased  activity  of  the 
organs. 

DREAMING  may  now  be  analyzed.  If  the  greater  number 
of  the  organs  remain  inactive,  buried  in  sleep,  and  two  or  three, 
from  some  internal  excitement  confined  to  themselves,  become 
active,  these  will  present  the  mind  with  corresponding  conceptions, 
and  being  separated  in  their  action  from  the  other  organs,  which, 
in  the  waking  state,  generally  co-operate  with  them,  the  result  will 
be  the  creation  of  disjointed  and  fantastic  impressions  of  objects, 
circumstances,  and  events;  in  short,  all  the  various  phenomena  of 
dreaming.  Thus,  every  circumstance  which  disturbs  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  body  may  become  the  cause  of  dreams  ;  a  heavy  supper, 
by  encumbering  the  digestive  powers,  affects  the  brain  painfully  by 
sympathy  ;  and  hence  the  spectres  and  hydras  dire  which  affect  the 
sleeping  fancy.  Fever,  by  keeping  up  a  morbid  excitement  in  the 
whole  system,  sustains  the  brain  in  a  state  of  uninterrupted  activity; 
and  hence  the  sleeplessness  which  attends  the  higher,  and  the  dis- 
turbed dreams  which  accompany  the  lower,  degrees  of  that  disease. 
Thus,  also,  is  explained  another  familiar  fact  relative  to  the  mind. 
If,  during  day,  we  have  been  excessively  engaged  in  any  particular 


1 


OF  INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES.  479 

train  of  study,  it  haunts  us  in  our  dreams.  During  day  the  organs 
of  the  faculties  chiefly  employed  were  maintained  in  a  state  of  ac- 
tion, intense  and  sustained,  in  proportion  to  the  mental  application. 
By  a  general  law  of  the  constitution,  excessive  action  does  not 
subside  suddenly,  but  abates  by  insensible  degrees  ;  —  on  going 
to  sleep,  so  much  activity  continues  to  stimulate  the  organ,  that 
the  train  of  ideas  goes  on  ;  till,  after  long  action,  it  at  last  entirely 
ceases. 

On  inquiry  I  find,  what  indeed  might  have  been  anticipated  a 
priori,  that  dreams  in  different  individuals  have  most  frequently 
relation  to  the  faculties  whose  organs  are  largest  in  their  brains. 
A  friend,  in  whom  Tune  is  large,  and  Language  deficient,  tells  me 
that  he  has  frequently  dreamt  of  hearing  and  making  music,  but 
very  rarely  of  composing  discourses,  written  or  oral.  Another 
gentleman,  in  whom  Language  is  full,  and  Tune  deficient,  states 
that  he  never  but  once  in  his  Hfe  dreamt  of  hearing  a  musical  note, 
while  many  a  laborious  page  he  has  imagined  himself  writing,  read- 
ing, and  speaking  in  his  dreams  ;  nay,  he  has  repeatedly  dreamt  of 
conversing  with  foreigners  in  their  own  tongue,  with  a  degree  of 
fluency  which  he  could  never  command  while  awake.  In  the  same 
way,  a  person  in  whom  Locality  is  lai'ge  assured  me,  that  he  had 
very  frequently  dreamt  of  travelling  in  foreign  countries,  and  enjoy- 
ed most  vivid  impressions  of  the  scenery  ;  while  another,  in  whom 
that  organ  is  small,  never  dreamt  upon  such  a  subject.  One  friend, 
in  whom  Combativeness  is  large,  told  me  that  many  a  tough  and 
long  contested  battle  he  had  fought  in  his  dreams  ;  while  another, 
in  whom  that  organ  is  moderate,  stated  that  he  never  dreamt  of 
fighting  but  once,  and  that  was  when  his  imagination  placed  him  in 
the  hands  of  murderers,  whose  heads  he  attempted  to  brealc  with  a 
poker,  and  wakened  in  terror  at  his  own  combative  efibrt. 

A  curious  illustration  of  the  principle  now  under  elucidation 
occurs  in  Scott,  who  was  executed  in  1823,  at  Jedburgh,  for 
murder.  It  is  stated  in  his  life,  that  some  years  before  the  fatal 
event,  he  had  dreamt  that  he  had  committed  a  murder,  and  was 
greatly  impressed  with  the  idea.  He  frequently  spoke  of  it,  and 
recurred  to  it  as  something  ominous,  till  at  last  it  was  realized. 


480  MODES  OF  ACTIVITY 

The  organ  of  Destructiveness  was  large  in  his  head,  and  so  active 
that  he  was  an  enthusiast  in  poaching,  and  prone  to  outrage  and 
violence  in  his  habitual  conduct.  This  activity  of  the  organ  might 
take  place  during  sleep,  and  then  it  would  inspire  his  mind  with 
destructive  feelings,  and  the  dream  of  murder  would  be  the  conse- 
quence. From  the  great  natural  strength  of  the  propensity,  he 
probably  may  have  felt,  when  awake,  an  inward  tendency  to  this 
crime,  and  joining  this  and  the  dream  together,  we  can  easily 
account  for  the  strong  impression  left  by  the  latter  on  his  mind. 

I  presume,  although  I  do  not  know  it  as  a  fact,  that  persons  in 
whom  Cautiousness  is  small,  and  Hope  and  Benevolence  large, 
will,  when  in  health,  generally  enjoy  brilliant  and  happy  dreams  ; 
while  others,  in  whom  Cautiousness  is  very  large,  and  Hope  small, 
will  be  wading  in  difficulties  and  wo. 

Mr.  Andrew  Carmichael  of  Dublin,  in  a  pamphlet  on  Dream- 
ing, which  he  wrote  some  years  ago,  suggests  the  idea  that  sleep 
may  be  the  occasion,  when  the  waste  of  substance  in  the  brain  is 
repaired  by  the  depositation  of  new  particles  of  matter.  There  is 
no  direct  evidence  of  the  truth  of  this  conjecture ;  but  the  brain, 
like  every  other  part  of  the  animal  structure,  is  furnished  witli 
blood-vessels  and  absorbents,  and  is  known  to  waste  like  them. 
That  the  waste  should  be  repaired,  therefore,  is  a  fact  of  necessary 
inference  ;  and  that  the  period  of  sleep,  when  the  mental  functions 
are  suspended,  would  be  particularly  suitable  to  this  operation, 
is  also  matter  of  very  plausible  conjecture  ;  but  here  the  point  at 
present  rests,  and  I  mention  it  merely  as  a  suggestion. 

This  view  of  the  phenomena  of  dreaming  gives  a  death-blow 
to  the  superstitious  notion  of  warnings  and  supernatural  communi- 
cations being  now  made  to  the  mind  in  sleep  ;  while  it  explains 
naturally  the  occasional  fulfilment  of  dreams,  as  in  the  case  of 
Scott. 

Thus  the  internal  excitement  of  the  organs  of  intellect  produces 
conception;  the  ideas  conceived  bearing  relation  always  to  the 
particular  organ  or  organs  called  into  action.  This  excitement, 
when  morbid  and  involuntary,  produces  fixed  conceptions  or  ideas, 
which  is  a  species  of  insanity;  and  the  same  excitement  taking 


OF  INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES.  481 

place  in  some  organs  during  sleep,  while  others  remain  in  a  state 
of  inactivity,  produces  dreams.  Hence  these  phenoniena  are  all 
connected  in  their  cause,  however  dissimilar  in  their  external 
appearance. 

IMAGINATION.  The  metaphysicians  frequently  employ  the 
words  Imagination  and  Fancy,  but  neither  of  them  are  synonymous 
with  the  phrenological  term  Ideality.  Imagination  is  defined  to 
be,  "The  power  of  forming  ideal  pictures;  the  power  of  represent- 
ing things  absent  to  one's  self  or  others,"  In  this  sense,  which  I 
hold  to  be  the  primitive  ahd  most  correct,  there  is  scarcely  a 
shade  of  difference  betwixt  Conception  and  Imagination.  Local- 
ity, Size,  Coloring,  and  Individuality,  being  active  by  command 
of  the  will,  we  may  call  up  in  our  mind  the  features  of  a  landscape, 
and  we  may  then  be  said  to  conceive  it.  If  to  this  act  the  word 
imagine  were  applied,  and  we  were  said  to  imagine  a  landscape, 
it  would  not  be  felt  as  improper.  Mr.  Stewart,  therefore,  if  he 
had  confined  Imagination  to  the  limits  here  pointed  out,  viz.  "  of 
representing  things  absent  to  one's  self  or  others,"  would  not  be 
blameable  for  doubting  if  it  were  a  faculty  distinct  from  Concep- 
tion, which  he  has  ranked  as  such.  At  the  same  time,  his  notion, 
that  '■'  Imagination  is  not  the  gift  of  nature,"  but  formed  "  by  par- 
ticular habits  of  study  or  of  business,"  is  even  on  this  supposition 
erroneous  ;  for  there  is  no  mode  of  activity  of  the  mind  which  is 
not  the  gift  of  nature,  however  much  it  may  be  improved  by  judi- 
cious exercise.  There  is,  however,  a  difference  between  Con- 
ception and  Imagination  ;  the  former  is  the  cool  and  methodical 
representation  of  things  absent,  as  they  exist  in  nature,  to  one's 
self,  or  to  others.  Imagination  is  the  impassioned  representation 
of  the  same  things,  and  not  merely  in  the  forms  and  arrangements 
of  nature,  but  in  new  combinations  formed  by  the  mind  itself.  In 
Phrenology,  therefore,  Conception  is  viewed  as  the  second  degree 
of  activity  of  the  Knowing  and  Reflecting  Faculties,  and  Imagina- 
tion as  the  third.  Imagination  is  just  intense,  glowing,  forcible, 
conceptions,  proceeding  from  great  activity  of  the  intellectual 
faculties,  not  confined  to  real  circumstances,  but  embracing  as 
61 


482  MODES  OF  ACTIVITY 

many  new  combinations  as  they  are  capable  of  calling  forth.  In 
this  way,  Imagination  may  be  manifested  without  ornament,  or 
illustration  ;  and  this  is  the  case  when  such  faculties  as  Form, 
Locality,  Order,  Coloring,  or  Causality  act  by  themselves,  unaided 
by  Ideality  and  Comparison.  Hence,  the  assertion  of  D'Alem- 
bert,^  that  "  metaphysics  and  geometry  are  of  all  the  sciences 
belonging  to  reason  those  in  which  Imagination  has  the  greatest 
share,"  is  quite  intelligible^  and  may  have  been  seriously  said.  If 
in  this  individual,  Form,  Size,  Locality,  Order,  Number,  and 
Causality,  in  short,  the  faculties  which  go  to  constitute  a  genius 
for  mathematics  and  metaphysics,  were  very  active,  he  would  be 
conscious  of  imagining,  with  great  interest  and  vivacity,  many  new 
relations  of  space,  magnitude,  and  causation,  and  looking  to  the 
usual  definitions  of  Imagination,  he  was  entitled  to  designate  these 
acts  as  exercises  of  that  faculty. 

The  metaphysicians  attach  a  different  and  more  extensive  mean- 
ing to  the  word  "  Fancy;  "  and,  according  to  my  understanding 
of  the  functions  ascribed  by  them  to  this  supposed  power,  it  em- 
braces a  wider  range  than  Imagination,  and  necessarily  implies 
ornament  and  illustration.  Hence,  Comparison  and  probably 
Ideality  require  to  be  combined  with  the  Activity  of  the  Knowing 
and  Reflecting  Faculties  to  constitute  Fancy.  The  latter  faculties 
will  call  up  ideas  of  objects  as  they  exist  in  nature.  Ideality  will 
invest  them  with  beauty,  Comparison  will  cull  similes  and  trace 
analogies  throughout  the  boundless  fields  of  space,  and  the  intel- 
lectual compound  may  be  designated  as  the  Creation  of  Fancy. 
The  significations  commonly  attached  to  the  words  Imagination  and 
Fancy,  are,  however,  by  no  means  precise.  The  conceptions  of 
the  Knowing  and  Reflecting  Faculties,  illustrated  and  diversified 
by  Comparison  alone,  are  frequently  designated  Fancy;  and  in  this 
sense  an  author  or  orator  may  be  said  to  possess  a  brilliant  fancy, 
although  Ideality  be  by  no  means  a  predominant  organ  in  his  head. 
On  the  other  hand,  many  passages  of  Milton  are  the  result  merely 
of  the  Knowing  Faculties,  and  Causality  imbued  with  intense 
Ideality,  and  in  thefli  Comparison  supplies  but  few  illustrations  ; 
*  Stewart,  Prelim,  Dissert,  to  Sup.  Encyclop.  Brit.  Part  I.  p.  6. 


OF  INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES.  483 

nevertheless  these  are  said  to  be  highly  imaginative,  and  certainly 
are  so.  Thus,  in  judging  of  genius.  Phrenology  teaches  us  to  be 
minute  and  discriminating  in  our  analysis,  and  to  avoid  ihe  error 
of  inferring  the  presence  of  all  the  powers  of  the  mind  in  an  emi- 
nent degree,  because  one  great  talent  is  possessed. 

Improvisatori  are  able,  without  study  or  premeditation,  to  pour 
out  thousands  of  verses  impromptu,  often  of  no  despicable  quality, 
upon  any  subject  which  the  spectators  choose  to  suggest.  I  have 
not  seen  any  of  these  individuals,  but  Phrenology  enables  us  to 
conjecture  the  constituent  elements  of  their  genius.  In  the  first 
place,  we  may  infer  that  they  possess  a  high  nervous  or  sanguine 
temperament,  communicating  to  the  brain  great  internal  activity. 
They  would  require,  in  the  next  place.  Language,  Individuality, 
Eventuality,  Comparison,  Tune,  and  Ideality,  all  large.  The 
great  and  uncommon  activity  supposed,  would  produce  the  readi- 
ness of  conception  and  warmth  of  feeling  which  are  the  first  requi- 
sites ;  large  endowment  of  Individuality  and  Eventuality  would 
supply  facts  and  incidents  necessary  to  give  substance  and  action 
to  the  composition  ;  Comparison  would  afford  similes,  metaphors 
and  illustrations  ;  Ideality  would  contribute  elevation  ;  Tune  give 
rhythm,  and  Language  afford  expression  to  the  whole  ideas  so 
formed  and  combined.  Observation  only  can  determine  whether 
these  conjectures  be  correct,  but  the  causes  here  assigned  appear 
to  be  adequate  to  the  effects,  and  this,  in  a  hypothesis,  is  all  that 
can  be  expected. 

MEMORY  also  is  a  mode  of  Activity  of  the  faculties.  .In 
most  individuals,  the  mind  has  no  power  of  calling  up,  into  fresh 
existence,  the  emotions  experienced  by  means  of  the  propensities 
and,  sentiments,  by  merely  willing  them  to  be  felt,  and  hence  we 
hold  these  faculties  not  to  possess  Memory.  The  ideas,  however, 
formed  by  the  Knowing  and  Reflecting  Faculties,  can  be  repro- 
duced by  an  act  of  recollection,  which  powers  are,  therefore,  said 
to  have  Memory.  Memory  is  thus  merely  a  degree  of  activity 
of  the  Knowing  and  Reflecting  Organs.  I  have  said  that  Con- 
ception and  Imagination  also  result  from  the  internal  activity  of  the 


484  MODES    OF  ACTIVITY 

organs  ;  and  the  question  naturally  arises,  in  what  respect  does 
Memory  differ  from  them  ?  The  difference  appears  to  be  this, 
—  in  Conception  and  Imagination,  new  combinations  of  ideas  are 
formed,  not  only  without  regard  to  the  time  or  order  in  which  the 
elementary  notions  had  previously  existed,  but  even  without  any 
direct  reference  to  their  having  at  all  existed  before.  Memory,  on 
the  other  hand,  implies  a  new  conception  of  impressions  previously 
received,  attended  with  the  idea  of  past  time,  and  consciousness 
of  their  former  existence  ;  and  it  follows  the  order  of  the  events  as 
they  happened  in  nature.  Each  organ  enables  the  mind  to  recall 
the  impressions  which  it  served  at  first  to  receive.  Thus,  the 
organ  of  Tune  will  recall  notes  formerly  heard,  and  give  the 
memory  of  music.  Form  will  recall  figures  previously  observed, 
will  give  the  memory  of  persons,  pictures,  and  crystals,  and  pro- 
duce a  talent  for  becoming  learned  in  matters  connected  with  such 
objects.  Individuality  and  Eventuality  will  confer  memory  for 
facts,  and  render  a  person  skilled  in  history,  both  natural  and  civil. 
A  person  in  whom  Causality  is  powerful,  will  possess  a  natural 
memory  for  metaphysics.  Hence  there  may  be  as  many  kinds 
of  memory  as  there  are  Knowing  and  Reflecting  Organs ;  and  an 
individual  may  have  great  memory  for  one  class  of  ideas,  and  very 
little  for  another;  George  Bidder  had  an  almost  inconceivable 
power  of  recollecting  arithmetical  calculations,  while  in  memory 
of  history  or  languages  he  did  not  surpass  ordinary  men.  As  the 
recollection  of  facts  and  occurrences  is  what  is  commonly  meant, 
in  popular  language,  by  a  great  memory,  individuals  so  gifted  will 
generally  be  found  to  possess  a  good  developeraent  of  Individuality, 
EventuaUty,  and  probably  of  Language. 

There  appears  to  be  a  quahty  of  brain,  which  gives  retentive- 
ness,  so  that  one  individual  retains  impressions  much  longer  than 
another,  although  their  combination  of  organs  be  the  same.  It  is 
said  that  Sir  Walter  Scott  possesses  this  characteristic  in  a  high 
degree ;  but  the  cause  of  it  is  unknown.  This  fact  does  not  inval- 
idate the  theory  of  Memory  now  given  ;  because  in  every  indi- 
vidual, the  power  of  retaining  one  kind  of  impressions  is  greater  than 
that  of  retaining  another,  and  this  power  bears  a  uniform  relation 


OF  INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES.  485 

to  the  size  of  the  organs.  The  celebrated  Cuvier  affords  another 
striking  illustration  of  this  remark.  He  possessed  the  quality  of 
retentiveness,  the  cause  of  which  is  unknown,  in  an  extraordinary 
degree;  but  the  power  was  strongest  in  his  largest  intellectual  organs. 
De  Candollo  describes  his  mental  qualities  as  follows  :  "  His  range 
of  knowledge  was  surpassingly  great.  He  had  all  his  life  read 
much, — seen  much, — and  had  never  forgotten  any  thing.  A  power- 
ful memory,  sustained  and  directed  by  sound  judgment  and  singular 
sagacity,  was  the  principal  foundation  of  his  immense  works  and 
his  success.  This  memory  was  particularly  remarkable  in  what 
related  to  forms,  considered  in  the  widest  sense  of  that  word  :  the 
figure  of  an  -animal,  seen  in  reality  or  in  drawing,  never  left  his 
mind,  and  served  him  as  a  point  of  comparison  for  all  similar 
objects.  The  sight  of  a  map,  of  the  plan  of  a  city,  seemed  suffi- 
cient to  give  him  an  almost  intuitive  knowledge  of  the  place  ;  and 
among  all  his  talents,  that  memory  which  may  be  called  graphic 
seemed  most  apparent:  he  was  consequently  an  able  draughtsman, 
seizing  likenesses  with  rapidity  and  correctness,  and  had  the  art  of 
imitating  with  his  pencil  the  appearance  of  the  tissue  of  organs,  in 
a  manner  pecuHarly  his  own,  and  his  anatomical  drawings  were 
admirable." — Edin.  New  Philosophical  Journal,  vol.  xiv.  No.  23. 
Dr.  Watts  seems  to  have  anticipated,  by  a  very  acute  conjecture, 
the  real  philosophy  of  Memory.  He  says,  "It  is  most  probable 
that  those  very  fibres  of  the  brain  which  assist  at  the  first  idea 
or  perception  of  an  object,  are  the  same  which  assist  also  at  the 
recollection  of  it ;  and  then  it  will  follow,  that  the  memory  has  no 
special  part  of  the  brain  devoted  to  its  own  service,  but  uses  all 
those  in  general  which  subserve  our  sensation,  as  well  as  our  think- 
ing and  reasoning  powers."*  This  conjecture  coincides  exactly 
with  Mr.  Hood's  case  of  the  person  in  Kilmarnock,  who,  although 
able  to  articulate,  lost  all  power  of  recollecting  arbitrary  signs,  and, 
with  a  sound  judgment  and  clear  understanding,  forgot,  through 
disease,  his  own  name  and  the  names  of  every  person  and  thing 
with  which  previously  he  was  most  familiar.  This  could  be 
accounted  for  only  on  the  principle,  that  the  organ  of  Language 
*  Page  18. 


486  MODES  OF  ACTIVITY 

had  lost  the  power  of  internal  activity  at  command  of  the  will, 
while  the  organs  of  the  reflecting  powers  remained  entire.  The 
fact,  also,  of  the  memory  failing  in  old  age,  before  the  judgment  is 
impaired,  is  accounted  for  on  the  same  principle.  Age  diminishes 
the  susceptibility  and  activity  of  the  organs ;  and  hence  they  are 
unable  to  receive  and  to  reproduce  impressions  with  the  vivacity 
of  youth.  Judgment  is  an  exercise  of  the  faculties  on  present  ob- 
jects, and  does  not  require  the  same  portion  of  internal  and  spon- 
taneous excitement  for  its  execution.  It  is  Imown,  that,  after  the 
mind  has  become  dead  to  the  recollection  of  recent  occurrences, 
it  recalls,  with  great  vivacity,  the  impressions  of  youth  and  boyish 
years.  These  were  first  imprinted  at  a  time  when  the  whole 
system  was  extremely  susceptible,  and  subsequently  have  been 
often  recalled  ;  hence,  perhaps,  the  organs  are  capable  of  resuming 
the  state  corresponding  to  them,  after  they  have  ceased  to  be 
capable  of  retaining  impressions  from  events  happening  when  their 
vigor  has  decayed. 

The  doctrine  that  memory  is  only  a  degree  of  activity  of  the 
faculties,  is  illustrated  by  the  phenomena  of  diseases  which  partic- 
ularly excite  the  brain.  Sometimes,  under  the  influence  of  disease, 
the  most  lively  recollections  of  things  will  take  place,  which  had 
entirely  escaped  from  the  memory  in  a  state  of  health.  "A  most 
remarkable  example  of  this  kind  occurred  some  years  ago  at  St. 
Thomas's  Hospital.*  A  man  was  brought  in,  who  had  received 
a  considerable  injury  of  the  head,  but  from  which  he  ultimately 
recovered.  When  he  became  convalescent,  he  spoke  a  language 
which  no  one  about  him  could  comprehend.  However,  a  Welsh 
milk- woman  came  onie  day  into  the  ward,  and  immediately  under- 
stood what  he  said.  It  appeared  that  this  poor  fellow  was  a  Welsh- 
man, and  had  been  from  his  native  country  about  thirty  years.  In 
the  course  of  that  period,  he  had  entirely  forgotten  his  native 
tongue,  and  acquired  the  Enghsh  language.  But  when  he  recov- 
ered from  his  accident,  he  forgot  the  language  he  had  been  so 
recently  in  the  habit  of  speaking,  and  acquired  the  knowledge  of 
that  which  he  had  originally  acquired  and  lost  !  "  Such  a  fact  as 
*  Tapper's  Inquiry  into  Gall's  System,  p.  33. 


1 


OF   INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES-  487 

tliis  is  totally  inexplicable,  on  any  principle  except  that  of  the  ex- 
istence of  organs  by  which  the  faculties  are  manifested  :  for  it  could 
not  be  the  mind  itself  which  was  affected,  and  its  faculties  impaired 
by  the  fever,  or  which  recovered  long  lost  knowledge,  by  the 
influence  of  disease.  At  the  same  time,  the  manner  in  which  such 
an  effect  is  produced,  is  entirely  unknown.  Old  people,  when 
feeble,  relapse  into  the  use  of  the  dialect  of  their  youth. 

The  case  of  which  the  following  is  an  abstract,  was  communi  - 
cated  by  Dr.  Dewar  to  the  Royal  Society,  and  although  highly 
interesting,  is  at  present  inexplicable. 

.  In  a  "Report  on  a  communication  from  Dr.  Dyce  of  Aberdeen, 
on  Uterine  Irritation,  and  its  effects  on  the  female  constitution,"  * 
Dr.  Dewar  states,  that  "It  is  a  case  of  mental  disease,  attended 
with  some  advantageous  manifestations  of  the  intellectual  powers  ; 
and  these  manifestations  disappearing  in  the  same  individual  in  the 
healthy  state.  It  is  an  instance  of  a  phenomenon  which  is  some- 
times called  double  consciousness,  but  is  more  properly  a  divided 
consciousness,  or  double  personality,  exhibiting  in  some  measure 
two  separate  and  independent  trains  of  thought,  and  two  independent 
mental  capabiHties,  in  the  same  individual ;  each  train  of  thought, 
and  each  capability,  being  wholly  dissevered  from  the  other,  and 
the '  two  states  in  which  they  respectively  predominate  subject  to 
frequent  interchanges  and  alternations." 

The  patient  was  a  girl  of  sixteen,  the  affection  appeared  imme- 
diately before  puberty,  and  disappeared  when  that  state  was  fully 
established.  It  lasted  from  2d  March  to  IJth  June,  1815,  under 
the  eye  of  Dr.  Dyce.  "The  first  symptom  was  an  uncommon 
propensity  to  fall  asleep  in  the  evenings.  This  was  followed  by 
the  habit  of  talking  in  her  sleep  on  these  occasions.  One  evening 
she  fell  asleep  in  this  manner,  imagined  herself  an  Episcopal  cler- 
gyman, went  through  the  ceremony  of  baptizing  three  children,  and 
gave  an  appropriate  extempore  prayer.  Her  mistress  shook  her 
by  the  shoulders,  on  which  she  awoke,  and  appeared  unconscious 
of  every  thing,  except  that  she  had  fallen  asleep,  of  which  she 
showed  herself  ashamed.  She  sometimes  dressed  herself  and  the 
*  Read  to  the  Royal  Society  in  February,  1822. 


488  MODES   OF  ACTIVITY 

children  while  in  this  state,  or,  as  Mrs.  L.  called  it,  'dead  asleep; 
answered  questions  put  to  her,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  that 
she  understood  the  question ;  but  the  answers  were  often,  though 
not  always,  incongruous."  One  day,  in  this  state,  she  "set  the 
breakfast  with  perfect  correctness,  with  her  eyes  shut.  She  after- 
wards awoke  with  the  child  on  her  knee,  and  wondered  how  she 
got  on  her  clothes."  Sometimes  the  cold  air  wakened  her,  at 
other  times  she  was  seized  with  the  affection  while  walking  out 
with  the  children.  "  She  sang  a  hymn  delightfully  in  this  state, 
and  from  a  comparison  which  Dr.  Dyce  had  an  opportunity  of 
making,  it  appeared  incomparably  better  done  than  she  could 
accomplish  when  well." 

"In  the  meantime,  a  still  more  singular  and  interesting  symptom 
began  to  make  its  appearance.  The  circumstances  ivhich  occurred 
during  the  paroxysm  were  completely  forgotten  by  her  when  the 
paroxysm  was  over,  but  were  perfectly  remembered  during  subse- 
quent paroxysms  ; "  and  it  is  on  this  account  that  I  have  introduced 
the  case  under  the  head  of  Memory.  "Her  mistress  said,  that 
when  in  this  stupor  on  subsequent  occasions,  she  told  her  what  was 
said  to  her  on  the  evening  on  which  she  baptized  the  children." 
Other  instances  of  this  kind  are  given.  A  depraved  fellow-servant, 
understanding  that  she  wholly  forgot  every  transaction  that  occurred 
during  the  fit,  clandestinely  introduced  a  young  man  into  the  house, 
who  treated  her  with  the  utmost  rudeness,  while  her  fellow-servant 
stopped  her  mouth  with  the  bed-clothes,  and  otherwise  overpow- 
ered a  vigorous  resistance  which  was  made  by  her,  even  during 
the  influence  of  her  complaint.  Next  day  she  had  not  the  slightest 
recollection  even  of  that  transaction,  nor  did  any  person  interested 
in  her  welfare  know  of  it  for  several  days,  till  she  was  in  one  of 
her  paroxysms,  when  she  related  the  whole  facts  to  her  mother. 
Next  Sunday  she  was  taken  to  the  Church  by  her  mistress,  while 
the  paroxysm  was  on  her.  She  shed  tears  during  the  sermon, 
particularly  during  the  account  given  of  the  execution  of  three 
young  men  at  Edinburgh,  who  had  described  in  theii  dying  dec- 
larations the  dangerous  steps  with  which  their  career  of  vice  and 
infamy  took  its  commencement.     When  she  returned  home,  she 


OF   INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES.  489 

recovered  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  was  quite  amazed  at  the  ques- 
tions put  to  her  about  the  Church  serrnon,  and  denied  that  she  had 
been  in  any  such  place  ;  but  next  night,  on  being  taken  ill,  she 
mentioned  that  she  had  been  at  Church,  repeated  the  words  of  the 
text,  and,  in  Dr.  Dyce's  heai'ing,  gave  an  accurate  account  of  the 
tragical  narrative  of  the  three  young  men,  by  which  her  feelings 
had  been  so  powerfully  affected.     On  this  occasion,  though  in  Mrs. 

L 's  house,  she  asserted  that  she  was  in  her  mother's." 

Drs.  Dyce  and  Dewar  do  not  give  any  theory  to  account  for 
these  very  extraordinary  phenomena.  They  mention  that  the  girl 
complained  of  confusion  and  oppression  in  her  head  at  the  coming 
on  of  the  fits ;  and  that  after  the  flowing  of  the  menses  had  been 
fairly  established,  the  whole  symptoms  disappeared.  We  are  unable 
phrenologically  to  throw  more  light  on  the  case  than  these  gen- 
tlemen have  done;  and  the  only  conclusion  which  seems  to  arise 
from  it  is,  that,  before  memory  can  exist,  the  organs  require  to  be 
affected  in  the  same  manner,  or  to  be  in  a  state  analogous  to  that 
in  which  they  were,  when  the  impression  was  first  received.  This 
inference  is  supported  by  several  other  facts.  Dr.  Abel  informed 
me  of  an  Irish  porter  to  a  warehouse,  who  forgot,  when  sober,  what 
he  had  done  when  drunk  ;  but  being  drunk,  again  recollected  the 
transactions  of  his  former  state  of  intoxication.  On  one  occasion, 
being  drunk,  he  had  lost  a  parcel  of  some  value,  and  in  his  sober 
moments  could  give  no  account  of  it.  Next  time  he  was  intoxi- 
cated, he  recollected  that  he  had  left  the  parcel  at  a  certain  house, 
and  there  being  no  address  on  it,  it  had  remained  there  safely,  and 
was  got  on  his  calling  for  it.  The  same  phenomena  present  them- 
selves in  the  state  of  somnambulism,  produced  by  animal  magnet- 
ism. In  the  works  on  this  subject,  it  is  mentioned,  and  the  fact 
has  been  confinned  to  me  by  a  very  intelligent  friend,  who  has 
observed  it  in  Paris,  that  a  person  who  is  magnetized  so  as  to  pro- 
duce the  kind  of  magnetic  sleep  termed  Somnambulism,  acquires, 
like  the  girl  in  Aberdeen,  a  new  consciousness  and  memory  ;  he 
does  not  recollect  the  transactions  of  his  ordinary  state  of  existence, 
but  acquires  the  power  of  speaking  and  of  thinking  in  his  induced 
state  of  abstraction  from  the  external  world.  When  this  state  has 
62 


490  MODES   OF  ACTIVITY 

subsided,  all  that  passed  In  it  is  obliterated  from  the  memory,  while 
the  recollection  of  ordinary  events  is  restored.  If  the  magnetic 
state  is  again  recalled,  memory  of  the  circumstances  which  formerly 
happened  in  that  state  is  restored ;  and  thus  the  individuals  may  be 
said  to  live  in  a  state  of  divided  consciousness.  In  this  country, 
the  doctrines  of  animal  magnetism  are  treated  with  the  same  con- 
tempt which  has  been  poured  upon  Phrenology.  I  am  wholly 
unacquainted  with  their  merits  ;  but  the  circumstance  now  stated, 
of  alternating  memory  and  forgetfulness,  is  mentioned  in  the  books 
on  the  subject  which  1  have  consulted,  and  has  been  certified  to  me 
as  true,  by  a  gentleman  whose  understanding  is  too  acute  to  allow 
me  to  believe  that  he  was  deceived,  and  whose  honor  is  too  high  to 
admit  of  his  deceiving  others.  These  facts  cannot  be  accounted 
for  in  a  satisfactory  way  ;  but  by  communicating  a  knowledge  of 
their  existence,  attention  will  be  drawn  to  them,  and  future  observa- 
tions and  reflection  may  ultimately  throw  light  upon  the  subject.     ' 

JUDGMENT,  in  the  metaphysical  sense,  belongs  to  the  re- 
flecting Faculties  alone.  The  Knowing  Faculties  may  be  said, 
in  one  sense,  to  judge,  as,  for  example,  the  faculty  of  Tune  may 
be  agreeably  or  disagreeably  affected,  and  in  this  way  may  judge  of 
sounds:  but  Judgment,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  is  a  percep- 
tion of  relation,  or  of  fitness,  or  of  the  connexion  betwixt  means  and 
an  end,  and  belongs  entirely  to  the  reflecting  powers.  These  fac- 
ulties, as  well  as  the  Knowing  Faculties,  have  Perception,  Memory 
and  Imagination.  Causality,  for  example,  perceives  the  relation  of 
cause  and  effect,  and  also  remembers  or  imagines  that  relation,  just 
as  Locality  perceives,  remembers,  or  imagines  the  relative  position 
of  objects.  Hence  Judgment  is  the  decision  of  the  Reflecting 
Faculties  upon  the  feelings  furnished  by  the  Propensities  and  Sen- 
timents, and  upon  the  ideas  furnished  by  the  Knowing  Faculties. 
This  I  conceive  to  be  the  stricdy  phrenological  analysis  of  Judg- 
ment ;  but  this  term,  in  the  popular  sense,  has  a  more  extensive 
signification.  It  is  common  to  observe  of  an  individual,  that  he 
possesses  an  acute  or  even  profound  intellect,  but  that  he  is  desti- 
tute of  judgment.     This  apparent  paradox  may  be  explained  in  two 


OF    INTELLKUTUAL   FACULTIES.  491 

ways  :  First,  By  "an  acute  or  profound  intellect,"  is  frequently 
meant  a  great  but  limited  talent,  which  we  would  refer  to  some  of 
the  Knowing  Faculties.  Thus,  a  person  may  be  distinguished  for 
ability  in  n^athematics  or  painting,  and  not  be  eminent  for  reflection 
or  judgment,  in  the  stricter  sense.  There,  is,  however,  a  second 
explanation,  which  is  preferable.  To  judge  of  the  line  of  conduct 
proper  to  be  followed  in  the  affairs  of  life,  it  is  necessary  to  feel 
correctly,  as  well  as  to  reason  deeply,  or  rather,  it  is  more  necessa- 
ry to  feel  rightly  than  to  reflect.  Hence,  if  an  individual  possess 
very  powerful  reflecting  organs,  such  as  Lord  Bacon's,  and  be 
deficient  in  Conscientiousness,  as  his  Lordship  seems  to  have  been, 
he  is  like  a  fine  ship  wanting  a  helm,  liable  to  be  carried  from  her 
course  by  every  wind  and  current.  The  reflecting  organs  give  the 
power  of  thinking,  but  Conscientiousness,  and  the  other  sentiments, 
are  necessary  to  furnish  correct  feeling,  by  which  practical  conduct 
may  be  directed.  Indeed,  Lord  Bacon  is  a  striking  example,  how 
poor  an  endowment  intellect,  even  the  most  transcendent,  is,  when 
not  accompanied  by  amiable  and  upright  sentiments.  That  mind 
which  embraced,  in  one  comprehensive  grasp,  the  whole  circle  of 
sciences,  and  pointed  out,  with  a  surprising  sagacity,  the  modes  in 
which  they  might  best  be  cultivated, — that  mind,  in  short,  which 
anticipated  the  progress  of  the  human  understanding  by  a  century 
and  a  half,  possessed  so  little  judgment,  so  little  of  sound  and 
practical  sense,  as  to  become  the  accuser,  and  even  defamer  of 
Essex,  his  early  patron  and  friend;  to  pollute  the  seat  of  justice  by 
corruption  and  bribery;  and  to  stoop  to  the  basest  flattery  of  a  weak 
king,  all  for  the  gratification  of  a  contemptible  ambition.  Never 
was  delusion  more  complete.  He  fell  into  an  abyss  of  degradation 
from  which  he  never  ascended;  and  to  this  day,  the  darkness  of  his 
moral  reputation  forms  a  lamentable  contrast  to  the  brilliancy  of 
his  intellectual  fame.  There  was  here  the  most  evident  defect  of 
judgment;  and  with  such  reflecting  powers  as  he  possessed,  the 
seat  of  his  errors  could  lie  only  in  the  sentiments,  deficiency  in 
some  of  which  prevented  him  from  feeling  right,  and  of  course 
withheld  from  his  understandwg^'the  data  from  which  sound  conclu- 
sions respecting  conduct  could  be  drawn. 


492  MODES  OF   ACTIVITY 

In  common  life,  the  effect  of  the  feelings  in  originating  opinion, 
is  by  far  too  little  attended  to  ;  and  we  frequently  hear  persons 
carrying  on  angry  disputations,  with  a  view  to  convince  each  other's 
understanding  ;  when,  in  fact,  the  cause  of  their  difference  lies  in  a 
feeling,  so  that  if  it  could  be  made  the  same  in  both,  no  disagree- 
ment would  exist.  It  is  common  in  such  cases  to  say,  "  my 
sentiments  are  entirely  different  from  yours;"  a  form  of  expression 
which  is  strictly  philosophical,  and  harmonizes  with  the  explanation 
now  given  ;  but  the  parties  do  not  perceive  that  a  "sentiment," 
in  the  strict  sense,  or  in  popular  language  a  "  feeling,"  cannot  be 
communicated  by  argument ;  and  hence  maintain  the  controversy, 
by  an  address  to  the  understanding  alone,  and  generally  with  no 
satisfactory  result.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  two  persons  meet,  whose 
propensities  and  sentiments  harmonize,  their  "sentiments,"  in  the 
popular  sense,  generally  coincide,  although,  in  the  depth  of  their 
intellectual  powers,  there  may  be  considerable  disparity.  In  esti- 
mating, therefore,  the  degree  of  sound  and  practical  judgment  for 
the  affairs  of  life,  the  good  sense,  or  mother-wit,  of  any  individual, 
we  ought  not  to  confine  our  attention  to  the  forehead  alone,  under 
the  notion  that  it  is  exclusively  the  seat  of  Judgment ;  but  to  Jook 
first  to  the  temperament,  that  we  may  judge  of  the  activity  of  the 
brain,  and  next  at  the  combination  of  organs;  for  we  shall  invariably 
find  sound  sense  to  be  the  accompaniment  of  an  equable  develope- 
ment  of  all  the  organs,  those  of  the  moral  sentiments  and  intellect 
predominating  in  Size.  There  are  then  no  exaggerated  and  no 
defective  powers;  so  that  no  desires  assume  an  undue  ascendency, 
and  no  emotions  are  so  feeble  as  not  to  be  adequately  experienced. 
This  combination  is  rare,  and  hence  high  practical  sense  is  more 
uncommon  than  great  partial  talent.  A  person  was  pointed  out  to 
me  as  possessing  the  forehead  of  an  idiot,  who  yet  had  conducted 
himself  with  remarkable  prudence  and  success  in  trade,  and,  by 
his  estimable  qualities,  had  gained  the  esteem  of  the  little  circle  in 
which  he  moved.  On  examination,  I  found  a  fine  nervous  and 
sanguine  temperament ;  a  forehead  greatly  retreating  indeed  ;  but 
with  a  full  develppement  of  the  knixwing  organs  ;  and,  on  turning 
to  the  region  of  the  propensities  and  sentimentr,,  the  former  were 


OF   INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES.  493 

found  in  fair  proportion,  with  an  excellent  developement  of  the 
latter.  Conscientiousness,  Veneration,  Benevolence,  Love  of 
Approbation,  Adhesiveness,  and  Cautiousness,  were  all  large;  and 
the  sources  of  his  prudence,  good  sense,  and  amiable  qualities, 
were  at  once  apparent.  To  show  that  Phrenology  and  the  head 
were  not  at  variance,  I  inquired  into  his  powers  of  logical  or  pro- 
found argumentation  ;  when  his  friend  said,  that,  although  he  was 
fond  of  reading,  his  acquaintances  were  surprised  that  he  never 
learnt  the  meaning  of  a  great  many  plain  words;  and  on  asking  what 
these  were,  they  turned  out  to  be  abstract  terms  and  expressions, 
referable  for  their  signification  to  Causality  and  Comparison.  The 
individual  in  question  not  only  could  not  reason  consecutively,  but 
in  ordinary  discourse  misapplied,  and  seemed  not  to  understand, 
the  terms  now  adverted  to.  This  was  exactly  what  a  phrenologist 
would  have  predicted. 

In  describing,  therefore,  the  effect  of  the  Reflecting  Faculties 
in  ordinary  life,  I  would  say  that  the  propensities  and  sentiments 
furnish  the  desires  which  prompt  to  action,  and  also  the  feelings 
which  regulate  conduct;  while  reflection,  without  being  able  to 
alter  their  nature,  judges  of  the  motives  presented  by  them  to  its 
consideration ;  taking  in  an  extent  of  view,  greater  or  less,  in 
proportion  to  the  size  of  the  intellectual  organs.  For  example, 
if  Cautiousness  be  excessively  large,  and  Hope  small,  this  com- 
bination will  present  dismal  forebodings  to  the  mind ;  and  the 
understanding  cannot  alter  the  feelings  so  as  to  render  cheery  and 
brilliant,  scenes  which  they  tinge  with  melancholy  and  gloom.  If 
Hope  be  very  large,  and  Cautiousness  very  small,  then  the  most 
delusive  anticipations  of  felicity  will  be  suggested,  and  the  under- 
standing will  see  objects  under  this  impression.  If,  again,  both 
Cautiousness  and  Hope  be  large,  each  will  furnish  its  own  emotions 
on  the  objects  of  contemplation  ;  and  the  understanding  now  having 
two  views,  will  possess  elements  for  judging,  and  be  able,  by 
comparing,  to  come  to  a  sound  determination  between  them. 

If  these  principles  be  correct,  they  enable  us  to  explain  why, 
among  lawyers,  a  bad  pleader  sometimes  makes  a  good  judge, 
and  vice  versa.     To  a  pleader,  intellect  and  propensity  are  more 


494  MODES  OF  ACTIVITY 

essentially  necessary  than  Conscientiousness ;  to  a  judge,  on  the 
other  hand,  great  moral  organs  are  indispensable;  for  widiout  an 
ample  developement  of  them,  his  intellect  is  liable  to  be  led  astray 
by  subdeties  and  false  views,  and  in  his  decisions  the  grand  element 
of  justice  will  be  wanting.  I  have  noticed,  that,  where  Conscien- 
tiousness is  large  in  a  lawyer,  and  he  is  pleading  a  bad  cause,  he 
betrays  instinctively,  by  his  natural  manner,  his  impression  that  he 
is  in  the  wrong.  Another  individual,  in  whom  this  organ  is  defi- 
cient, views  all  cases  chiefly  as  questions  of  opinion,  and  contends 
for  victory  with  that  ardent  spirit  which  the  former  can  display  only 
when  advocating  the  cause  of  truth. 

The  same  principles  enable  us  to  judge  of  the  propriety  of  a 
very  important  regulation  in  one  of  the  institutions  of  the  country, 
— I  mean  the  requisite  of  unanimity  in  juries  in  civil  causes.  If 
two  individuals  were  constituted  umpires  on  a  claim  of  damages 
for  defamation,  and  if  one  of  them  possessed  from  nature  an 
immense  Love  of  Approbation,  judging,  from  his  own  feelings, 
he  would  rather  suffer  death  than  live  defamed ;  if  the  other  was 
extremely  deficient  by  natural  constitution  in  this  sentiment,  he 
could  pass  his  days  unmoved  by  the  censures  or  applauses  of  the 
world,  and  the  two  could  not,  by  any  efforts  of  their  understand- 
ings, come  to  view  the  injury  sustained  by  the  plaintiff  in  the  same 
light,  nor  agree  about  the  amount  of  damages  v/hich  would  consti- 
tute an  equitable  compensadon  for  the  slander.  The  one  must 
either  surrender  his  conscience  to  the  other,  or  allow  a  third  party 
to  decide  between  them  ;  for  real  unanimity  is  excluded  by  the 
very  constitution  of  their  minds.  No  exercise  of  the  understand- 
ing will  produce  it.  Even  the  intellectual  perceptions  of  jury- 
men differ.  If  one  is  very  deficient  in  the  reflecting  organs  he 
will  forget  all  inferential  evidence  and  conclusions  as  fast  as  they 
are  stated  to  him,  and  hence  may  regard  a  point  as  not  proved 
which  appears  demonstrated  to  another  juror  in  whom  the  reflect- 
ing organs  are  large.  It  is  difficult  to  admire  the  wisdom  of  that 
legislature  which  is  so  ignorant  of  the  human  mind  as  to  imagine 
that  men  can  by  argument,  if  they  will,  arrive  at  one  conclusion  in 
such  cases :  or  which,  if  it  knows  that  they  cannot  in  nature  agree, 


OF   INTELLECTUAL   FACULTIES.  495 

nevertheless  conceives  it  profound  and  beneficial  to  require  a 
verdict  in  direct  opposition  to  the  constitution  of  the  mind;  to 
produce  an  appearance  of  unanimity,  when  the  substance  is 
unattainable.  Many  voluminous  arguments  have  been  brought 
forward  on  the  opposite  sideg  of  this  question  :  but  it  appears  to 
me,  that  the  mode  of  judging  of  it  afforded  by  Phrenology  carries 
us  to  the  ultimate  principles  at  once.  If  it  be  naturally  in  the 
power  of  men,  by  honest  efforts,  to  see  questions  of  conduct, 
such  as  occur  before  Jury  Courts,  in  the  same  light,  then  unanimity 
ought  to  be  required;  but  if  this  perfect  harmony  of  sentiment  is 
excluded  by  nature,  it  is  mere  littleness  and  imbecility,  to  pretend 
to  produce  it  by  an  act  of  Parhament ;  accordingly,  nature  prevails 
here  as  in  every  other  case,  for  all  sensible  jurors  before  com- 
mencing their  deliberations,  arrange  that  the  minority  shall  yield 
to  the  majority;  and  the  only  effects  of  the  law  are  to  put  it  in  the 
power  of  some  very  obstinate  or  very  wicked  individual  to  concuss 
his  fellow  jurors  into  adoption  of  his  opinion — which,  on  the 
ordinary  chances,  from  his  standing  alone,  will  be  placed  at  an 
extreme  point  in  the  scale  of  absurdity — or  else  to  defeat  the 
object  of  the  parties,  by  depriving  them  altogether  of  a  verdict. 

It  has  been  said,  that  the  requisite  of  unanimity  produces  atten- 
tion in  the  jury  to  the  case,  and  discussion  of  the  subject  among 
themselves.  This  I  have  no  doubt  may  be  true,  but  even  with 
every  degree  of  attention  and  discussion,  unanimity  in  general  is 
morally  impossible.  Obvious  questions  of  evidence  or  right,  in 
which  all  men  may  agree,  are  not  those  that  come  most  frequently 
before  courts  of  justice  ;  but  difficult  cases,  in  which  the  most 
conscientious  and  enlightened  men  may  differ  in  opinion.  Out  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  persons  there  is  always  a  risk  that  two  or  more 
may  stand  in  the  antipodes  of  moral  and  intellectual  constitution  to 
each  other.  Under  the  present  system  such  individuals  must  yield 
unconvinced.  It  appears  to  me,  that,  by  leaving  out  the  extremes, 
and  requiring  a  majority  of  three-fourths,  or  some  such  proportion, 
the  advantages  of  discussion  would  be  gained,  and  the  evil  of  the 
great  body  of  a  jury  being  concussed  into  a  verdict  by  one  obsti- 
nate individual,  might  be  avoided.     A  proposition  to  which  nine 


496  MODES  OF  ACTIVITY 

men  out  of  twelve  would  voluntarily  assent,  would  be  nearer  truth 
than  one  modified  by  mutual  concessions  to  conciliate  (but  not  to 
satisfy)  the  whole. 

Having  now  discussed  the  metaphysical  faculties  of  Perception, 
Conception,  Imagination,  Memory  and  Judgment,  and  shown  them 
to  be  merely  modes  of  activity  of  the  phrenological  faculties,  with 
which  the  metaphysicians  were  unacquainted,  I  proceed  to  notice 
several  other  mental  operations  and  affections,  which  make  a  figure 
in  the  common  systems  of  mental  philosophy,  and  to  refer  them 
also  to  their  principles  in  this  science. 

CONSCIOUSNESS  means  the  knowledge  which  the  mind 
has  of  its  own  existence  and  operations.  Dr.  Thomas  Brown 
denies  that  it  is  a  power,  or  any  thing  different  from  sensation, 
emotion,  or  thought,  existing  at  any  moment  in  the  mind.  It  gives 
us  no  intimation  of  the  existence  of  the  organs,  and  reveals  to  us 
only  the  operations  of  our  own  minds,  leaving  us  entirely  in  the 
dark  regarding  the  mental  affections  of  others,  where  they  differ 
from  our  own.  Hence,  by  reflecting  on  consciousness,  which  the 
metaphysicians  chiefly  did,  as  their  means  of  studying  the  mind, 
we  can  discover  nothing  concerning  the  organs  by  which  the  facul- 
ties act,  and  run  great  danger  of  forming  erroneous  views  of  human 
nature,  by  supposing  mankind  in  general  constituted  exactly  like 
ourselves. 

Each  organ  communicates  consciousness  of  the  feelings  and 
ideas  which  it  serves  to  manifest  ;  thus,  if  the  organ  of  Tune  be 
extremely  deficient,  the  individual  will  not  be  able  to  attain  con- 
sciousness of  melody  ;  a  person  in  whom  Conscientiousness  is 
extremely  deficient,  will  not  be  conscious  of  the  sentiment  of  jus- 
tice, nor  of  its  obligations  ;  one  in  whom  Veneration  is  very  feeble, 
will  not  be  conscious  of  the  emotion  of  piety,  nor  of  the  duties 
arising  from  it.  If  we  should  place  individuals  so  constituted,  in 
situations  requiring  vivid  consciousness  of  these  emotions,  for  the 
direction  of  their  conduct,  we  shall  be  disappointed.  This  shows 
the  great  importance  of  a  well  constituted  brain.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  the   organs  are  large  and   the   temperament  active, 


OF    INTELLECTUAL   FACULTIES.  497 

intense  consciousness  of  the  corresponding  feelings  and  ideas  is 
experienced  ;  and  some  persons,  mistaking  the  emotions  arising 
in  this  manner  from  Wonder,  Veneration,  and  other  faculties,  for 
supernatural  communications,  fall  into  fanaticism  and  superstition. 

It  has  been  argued  by  some  skeptics,  that  the  human  mind  pos- 
sesses no  certain  knowledge,  because  not  only  the  senses  and 
understanding  occasionally  deceive  us,  but  even  Consciousness 
itself  gives  false  intimations  ;  thus,  a  man  whose  leg  has  been 
amputated,  is  sometimes  conscious,  years  after  the  operation,  of 
a  pain  in  the  toe  of  the  lost  foot  ;  or  a  patient  suffering  under 
chronic  disease  of  the  liver,  feels  no  uneasiness  in  it,  but  is  con- 
scious of  a  pain  at  the  top  of  the  right  shoulder.  The  answer  to 
this  argument  is,  that  each  nerve  and  faculty  has  received  a  defi- 
nite constitution,  in  virtue  of  which  it  gives  certain  intimations 
when  affected  in  a  certain  manner ;  thus,  when  the  nerve  of  the 
toe  is  affected,  the  nerve  itself  gives  consciousness  of  pain, 
accompanied  with  an  instinctive  reference  to  its  seat.  After  the 
leg  has  been  amputated,  part  of  the  nerve  remains,  and  when 
affected  in  the  same  manner  as  while  the  toe  existed,  it  communi- 
cates the  impression  which  belonged  to  it  in  its  entire  state.  In 
this  there  is  no  deception,  because  the  nerve  which  originally  inti- 
mated pain  in  the  toe,  is  affected  in  the  same  manner  as  it  was 
when  the  toe  existed.  In  like  manner  the  liver  itself  possesses 
little  sensibility,  but  the  phrenic  nerve  which  is  ramified  on  it 
communicates  with  the  shoulder,  and  the  nerve  being  highly  sensi- 
tive, is  affected  by  the  state  of  the  liver,  and  produces  pain  in  the 
shoulder.  The  nerve  in  this  case  is  really  affected,  and  the  pain 
is  the  correct  indication  of  its  state.  It  is  the  office  of  Causality 
to  discover  the  causes  of  these  affections.  Consciousness  being 
limhed  to  the  intimation  of  the  sensations  themselves.  Every 
derangement  of  an  organ  of  sensation  or  perception  is  accompanied 
with  disorder  of  Consciousness  to  a  corresponding  extent :  Thus, 
in  jaundice,  the  mind  has  consciousness  of  all  objects  being  yel- 
low ;  in  cases  like  that  of  Miss  S.  L.,  detailed  on  p.  473,  there 
is  consciousness  of  disturbed  equilibrium  ;  but  Causality  refers 
these  perceptions  to  diseases  as  their  causes.  When  the  derange- 
C3 


498  MODES  OF  ACTIVITY 

ment  embraces  the  organs  of  Causality  themselves,  the  power  of 
discriminating  the  impression  to  be  diseased  is  lost,  and  insanity  is 
established. 

It  would  be  of  much  practical  utility  to  teach  individuals  the 
dependence  of  Consciousness  on  the  states  of  the  mental  organs  ; 
as  a  means  of  inducing  them,  when  under  morbid  excitement,  to 
distrust  their  own  impressions,  and  seek  relief  from  sensible 
advisers.  In  the  present  system  of  education,  the  connexion  of 
the  feelings  and  intellect  with  material  organs,  is  so  totally  over- 
looked, and  every  emotion  and  perception  is  represented  as  so 
purely  mental,  that  when  these  become  exalted  or  disordered,  it  is 
extremely  difficult  to  enable  the  individual  to  comprehend  how 
they  can  be  delusive,  or  in  any  way  affected  by  corporeal  con- 
ditions ;  and  hence  he  suffers  much  uneasiness  in  secret ;  avoids 
recourse  to  a  physician ;  persists  in  acting  on  his  morbid  impres- 
sions, as  if  they  were  sound  ;  till  at  last  disease  is  permanently 
estabhshed,  which,  under  more  enlightened  guidance,  might  easily 
have  been  averted,  or  cut  short  at  its  commencement. 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  determine  whether  the  feeling  of 
personal  Identity  indicated  by  the  pronoun  /  is  connected  with  a 
particular  organ,  or  the  result  of  the  general  action  of  the  whole 
organs.  The  reader  is  referred  to  what  is  said  on  this  subject  on 
p.  99,  222,  and  406. 

ATTENTION  is  not  a  faculty  of  the  mind,  but  consists  merely 
in  the  application  of  the  Knowing  or  Reflecting  Faculties  to  their 
objects.  Thus  the  faculty  of  Tune,  excited  by  melody,  attends 
to  notes  ;  the  faculty  of  Causality,  addressed  by  a  demonstration, 
attends  to  the  steps  of  the  argument;  and  the  other  faculties  of  the 
intellect,  in  like  manner,  attend  to  their  various  objects.  Concen- 
trativeness  gives  continuity  to  the  impressions  of  the  faculties. 
Individuality  and  Eventuality  direct  them  to  their  objects,  and 
Firmness  maintains  them  in  a  state  of  application,  and  these  greatly 
aid  Attention ;  but  still  attention,  in  itself,  is  a  mere  act  of  the  dif- 
ferent intellectual  faculties,  and  not  the  attribute  of  any  particular 
power,  established  exclusively  for  its  production. 


OF  INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES'.  499 

ASSOCIATION.  The  metaphysicians  have  endeavored,  by- 
reflecting  on  their  own  consciousness,  to  discover  universal  laws,  by 
which  the  succession  of  ideas  in  mankind  in  general  is  regulated. 
They  imagine  our  thoughts  to  follow  each  other  in  an  established 
order,  and  have  attempted  to  find  out  the  causes  of  it,  and  the 
circumstances  which  determine  the  order.  Success  in  such  an 
attempt  appears  to  me  to  be  opposed  by  impossibility,  and  incom- 
patible with  success.  Suppose  that  we  wished  to  ascertain  the 
laws  by  which  the  succession  of  notes  emitted  by  an  ^olian  harp 
is  regulated,  we  should  first  endeavor  to  discover  the  causes  which 
produced  them.  Similar  causes,  acting  in  similar  circumstances, 
produce  similar  effects  ;  but  if  we  vary  one  circumstance  out  of  a 
thousand,  we  cannot  calculate  on  the  result.  Now,  the  causes 
which  determine  the  succession  of  notes  from  an  ^olian  harp  are, 
the  structure  of  the  harp;  the  impetus  of  the  air;  the  order  in  which 
it  excites  the  various  strings.  Render  all  these  circumstances  the 
same  in  the  case  of  every  harp,  and  the  same  succession  of  notes 
may  be  assuredly  predicted.  But  if  the  air,  that  emblem  of  incon- 
stancy, will  not  blow  twice  with  the  same  force  on  the  same  spot 
in  a  month,  or  will  not  excite  the  same  strings  twice  in  the  same 
order  of  succession  in  a  year;  and  if  no  two  iEohan  harps  can  be 
made  in  every  particular  of  string,  form,  and  substance,  alike, — 
who,  by  observing  the  notes  arising  from  one  harp,  will  succeed  in 
unfolding  the  laws  by  which  the  succession  of  notes  from  ^ohan 
harps  in  general  may  be  determined,  whatever  their  size,  structure, 
and  number  of  strings,  and  the  circumstances  in  which  they  may  be 
placed?  This  illustration  is  completely  applicable  to  the  case  of  the 
human  faculties.  Ideas  are  affections  of  these,  just  as  notes  are 
affections  of  the  strings  of  the  harp.  Ideas  arise  from  impressions 
on  the  various  faculties  of  the  mind  ;  and  there  is  as  little  regularity 
in  the  order  in  which  they  are  received,  as  in  the  breathing  of  the 
air  on  the  strings.  And,  lastly,  if  harps  may  vary  in  structure, 
human  beings  do  positively  differ  in  the  relative  strength  of  their 
powers.  Hence  the  same  impressions  must  produce  very  different 
effects,  or  introduce  very  different  ideas  into  minds  so  dissimilarly 


500  ASSOCIATION, 

constituted;  and  how,  amid  such  a  countless  variety  of  causes,  can 
similarity  of  effects  be  expected  ? 

If  we  place  a  number  of  persons  on  a  hill-top,  say  Arthur  Seat, 
overlooking  a  champaign  country,  and  the  sea,  and  bid  each  declare 
his  thoughts  ; — we  shall  find  that  one,  with  Ideality  predominant, 
will  think  of  the  magnificence  of  nature,  the  boundless  extent  of 
the  ocean,  the  vastness  of  the  mountains  ;  and  on  recalling  the 
scene,  these  ideas  and  emotions  will  be  associated  with  it  in  his 
mind:  another,  with  great  Causality  and  Constructiveness,  and  little 
Ideality,  will  admire  the  skill  which  he  sees  displayed  in  farming 
the  fields,  and  in  constructing  the  houses  and  the  ships  :  one,  with 
Benevolence  large,  will  think  of  the  happiness  enjoyed  by  the 
people  who  inhabit  the  plain:  another,  with  Acquisitiveness  active, 
will  think  how  the  various  branches  of  industry  will  pay;  and  one, 
with  a  strong  Veneration,  will  probably  take  occasion  to  admire  the 
greatness  and  goodness  of  God.  Now,  the  metaphysician  expects 
to  find  out  laws,  by  which,  on  Arthur  Seat  being  afterwards  men- 
tioned, in  the  presence  of  these  individuals,  we  may  be  able  to  tell 
the  train  of  thoughts  which  it  will  introduce  into  their  several  minds; 
and  he  hopes  to  arrive  at  this  result,  by  studying  the  train  which 
arises  in  his  own  mind,  on  the  hill  being  referred  to  as  an  object  of 
thought.  Such  an  expectation  must  necessarily  be  futile.  Each 
of  the  individuals  supposed  would,  on  the  mention  of  the  hill,  expe- 
rience a  train  of  ideas  corresponding  to  the  first  impressions  which 
he  received  on  the  top,  and  nothing  can  be  more  dissimilar  than 
these.  As  well,  therefore,  to  use  the  words  of  an  ingenious  phren- 
ologist, may  we  expect,  by  studying  the  forms  and  hues  of  the 
clouds,  which  flit  along  the  sky  to-day,  to  be  able  to  discover  laws, 
by  which  their  succession  will  be  regulated  to-morrow  :  as,  by 
reflecting  on  the  ideas  which  pass  in  one  mind,  to  discover  links 
of  association,  by  which  ideas  in  the  minds  of  mankind  in  general 
will  be  uniformly  connected,  and  introduced  in  a  determinate  suc- 
cession. 

Although,  however,  it  is  in  vain  to  expect  to  find  any  law  or 
principle  regulating  the  association  of  one  idea  with  another,  the 
mutual  influence  of  organs  by  association  is  determinate.     There 


1 


ASSOCIATION.  501 

are  also  natural  associations  betwixt  certain  external  objects  and  the 
internal  faculties:  and,  lastly,  artificial  associations  may  be  formed 
betwixt  objects  and  the  feelings  of  the  mind;  and  the  laws  which 
regulate  these  constitute  certain  knowledge,  and  are  interesting  to 
be  known.  Let  us,  therefore,  inquire  briefly  into  these  laws  of 
association. 

In  the  first  place,  we  are  able  to  perform  anew,  when  we  wish 
to  do  so,  any  voluntary  motion  which  we  have  performed  before. 
This  shows  that  the  nerves  of  motion  are  so  associated  or  con- 
nected with  the  organs  of  the  mind,  as  to  be  at  the  command  of 
the  will. 

In  the  second  place,  by  conceiving  an  object  in  distress,  we  can 
raise  the  emotion  of  pity  in  the  mind  ;  by  conceiving  a  splendid 
scene  in  nature,  we  can  excite  the  emotion  of  sublimity  and  beauty 
produced  by  Ideality;  by  reading  a  terrific  story,  we  are  able  to 
experience  the  chilling  emotions  of  fear  creeping  along  the  nerves. 
These  facts  point  out  a  close  connexion  betwixt  the  organs  of  In- 
tellect and  the  organs  of  the  different  propensities  and  sentiments. 
Indeed,  in  the  dissection  of  the  brain,  the  closest  relation  betwixt 
its  different  parts  is  perceived,  combined  with  arrangements  for 
separate  functions  ;  but  this  is  connexion  rather  than  association. 

Farther,  Mr.  Scott,  in  his  "  Observations  on  Phrenology,"  has 
pointed  out,  in  a  very  ingenious  manner,  the  beautiful  association, 
in  point  of  arrangement,  of  the  organs,  for  the  purposes  of  mutual 
assistance  in  their  action.  "When  I  began,"  says  he,  '^to  con- 
sider the  schedule  or  map  presented  to  us  by  Drs.  Gall  and  Spurz- 
heim,  I  could  at  first  see  none  of  this  beauty  in  it.  In  looking 
over  their  list  of  powers,  I  could  observe  no  order  or  connexion 
between  them.  The  whole  presented  to  me  a  rude  appearance, 
quite  different,  as  I  then  thought,  from  what  is  commonly  found 
in  nature.  After  a  more  attentive  consideration,  however,  light 
began  to  dawn  upon  me,  and,  beginning  to  consider  the  faculties 
in  a  certain  way,  and  to  group  them  after  a  certain  order,  the 
whole  gradually  formed  themselves  before  me  into  a  system  of 
surprising  symmetry;  and,  like  the  disjointed  parts  of  an  anamor- 
phosis, when  seen  from  the  proper  point  of  view,  collecting  them- 


502  ASSOCIATION. 

selves  into  one  elegant  design,  delighted  me  with  the  appearance 
of  that  very  order  and  beauty  which  I  would  beforehand  have 
expected  to  find  in  them.  In  a  scheme  such  as  this,  where  we 
find  powers  which  are  analogous,  which  resemble  one  another  in 
their  nature  and  uses,  or  which  act  upon  and  co-operate  with  one 
another,  or  mutually  aid  and  assist,  or  control  and  balance,  each 
other,  we  should  naturally  expect  the  organs  of  these  powers  to  be 
situated  near  to  one  another,  and  in  such  a  way  as  either  to  adjoin, 
or  at  least  to  admit  of  an  easy  communication.  Accordingly  we 
find  this  to  be  the  case."  Immediately  above  Amativeness,  for 
example,  we  see  in  the  bust  Philoprogenitiveness,  giving  the  love 
of  offspring,  and  Adhesiveness,  producing  the  propensity  to  attach- 
ment, the  three  together  constituting  the  group  of  the  domestic 
feelings.  Next  to  them  we  find  Combativeness,  as  if  there  were 
no  dearer  objects  than  these  for  which  the  various  powers  could 
be  exerted.  Adjoining  to  Combativeness  is  Destructiveness  ;  the 
former  giving  courage  to  meet  the  enemy,  the  latter  putting  peril 
in  the  onset,  and  threatening  him  with  destruction. 

Amid  the  difficulties  of  life,  it  is  necessary  to  use  not  only  cau- 
tion but  also  so  much  of  secrecy  regarding  our  own  purposes,  as 
not  to  carry  "  our  hearts  on  our  sleeves  for  daws  to  peck  at,"  and 
we  find  Secretiveness  surmounted  by  and  in  juxtaposhion  with 
Cautiousness. 

Turning  to  the  region  of  the  Sentiments,  we  find  Veneration, 
which  produces  the  tendency  to  religion,  surrounded  by  Benevo- 
lence, Hope,  Perseverance,  and  Justice  ;  or  the  fountains  of  the 
whole  charities  and  duties  of  life  associated  in  a  group,  and  beau- 
tifully arranged  for  reciprocal  aid  and  combined  action. 

We  find  Ideality  approaching  these,  but  a  little  below  them, 
yet  so  near  to  and  above  Constructiveness  as  to  elevate  its  designs. 
Ideality  also  adjoins  to  Wit  and  Tune,  as  if  to  give  soul  and  fancy 
to  poetry. 

In  like  manner  we  find  the  organs  which  simply  perceive,  or  the 
Knowing  Organs,  arranged  together,  along  the  superciliary  ridge, 
and  those  of  Reflection  occupying  the  summit  of  the  forehead,  like 
the  powers  which  govern  and  direct  the  whole. 


ASSOCIATION.  503 

Mr.  Scott,  after  exhibiting  these  views,  observes,  that  such  an 
arrangement  is  more  beautiful,  systematic,  and  appropriate,  than 
human  ingenuity  could  have  devised  ;  and  taken  in  connexion  with 
the  fact,  that  the  organs  were  discovered  at  different  times,  and  in 
separate  situations,  and  that  Order  and  Beauty  appeared  only  after 
the  ultimate  filling  up  of  the  greater  part  of  the  brain  had  taken 
place,  it  affords  a  strong  argument  a  priori^  that  the  organs  were 
discovered^  not  invented^  and  that  the  system  is  the  work  of  nature^ 
and  not  of  Drs.  Gall  and  Spurzheim. 

In  treating  of  the  organ  of  Language,  I  have  explained  the  asso- 
ciation of  ideas  with  signs.  I  may  here  add,  that  the  doctrines 
of  Mnemonics  are  founded  on  this  power  of  the  mind  to  associate 
ideas  with  arbitrary  signs.  In  devising  means  for  aiding  the  mem- 
ory, it  ought  constantly  to  be  kept  in  view,  that  every  individual 
will  associate,  with  greatest  ease.  Ideas  with  such  external  objects 
as  he  has  the  greatest  natural  facility  in  perceiving.  For  example, 
sometimes  space  is  used  as  the  medium  of  recalling  the  ideas 
wished  to  be  remembered.  The  room  is  divided,  in  imagination, 
into  compartments,  and  the  first  topic  of  the  discourse  is  placed  in 
the  first  compartment,  the  second  into  the  second,  and  so  on  ;  so 
that,  by  going  over  the  spaces,  the  different  heads  of  the  discourse 
with  which  they  were  associated  will  be  recalled.  It  is  obvious, 
however,  that  it  is  only  if  Locality  be  large  that  such  a  device  can 
be  serviceable ;  because  if  this  faculty  be  weak,  it  will  be  as  diffi- 
cult to  imagine  and  recollect  the  compartments,  as  the  discourse 
itself.  If,  in  like  manner,  numbers  are  resorted  to  as  the  con- 
necting medium,  so  that  on  hearing  one  idea,  which  we  wish  to 
recollect,  we  shall  associate  it  with  the  number  one,  and  on  hearing 
another  which  we  wish  to  recollect,  we  shall  associate  it  with  the 
number  two,  it  is  obvious,  that,  unless  the  faculty  of  number  be 
powerful,,  this  will  be  a  more  difficult  process  than  that  of  simple 
recollection.  Hence,  different  modes  of  recollection  should  be 
used  for  different  individuals.  He  who  has  Number  most  powerful, 
will  associate  words  most  easily  with  numbers  ;  he  who  has  Form 
most  energetic,  will  associate  words  most  easily  with  figures ;  he 
who  has  Locality  most  vigorous,  wilt  associate  words  most  easily 


504  ASSOCIATION. 

with  space  ;  and  he  who  has  Tune  most  powerful,  will  associate 
words  most  easily  With  musical  notes.  Hence,  also,  the  influence 
of  associations  on  our  judgment  is  easily  accounted  for.  He  in 
whom  Veneration  is  powerful,  and  to  whom  the  image  of  a  saint 
has  been  from  infancy  presented  as  an  object  to  be  venerated,  ex- 
periences an  instantaneous  and  involuntary  emotion  of  Veneration, 
every  time  the  image  is  presented  to  him,  or  a  conception  of  it 
formed;  because  it  is  now  the  sign  which  excites  in  him  that 
emotion,  altogetherindependently  of  the  Reflecting  Faculties.  Until 
we  can  break  this  association,  and  prevent  the  conception  of  the 
image  from  operating  as  a  sign  to  excite  the  faculty  of  Veneration, 
we  shall  never  succeed  in  bringing  his  understanding  to  examine  the 
real  attributes  of  the  object  itself,  and  to  perceive  its  want  of  every 
quality  that  ought  justly  to  be  venerated.  In  the  same  way,  when 
a  person  is  in  love,  the  perception  or  conception  of  the  object 
beloved  stirs  up  the  faculties  which  feel  into  such  vivid  emotion  ; 
that  emotion  is  so  delightful,  and  the  Reflecting  Faculties  have  so 
little  Consciousness,  that  the  real  source  of  the  fascination  is  in  the 
faculties  which  feel,  that  it  is  impossible  to  make  the  lover  see  the 
object  with  the  eyes  of  a  disinterested  spectator.  If  we  could  once 
break  the  association  betwixt  the  object  and  the  faculties  which  feel, 
the  Reflecting  Faculties  would  then  perform  their  functions  faith- 
fully, and  the  object  would  be  seen  in  its  true  colors.  But,  while 
we  are  unable  to  break  this  link,  and  to  prevent  this  fascination,  we 
may  reason  ad  sempiternum,  and  our  conclusions  will  never  appear 
to  be  sound,  because  the  premises,  that  is,  the  appearance  of  the 
object,  will  never  be  the  same  to  the  party  most  interested  in  the 
argument  and  to  us. 

Thus,  the  associations  which  mislead  the  judgment,  and  perpet- 
uate prejudices,  are  those  of  words  or  things  with  feelings  or  sen- 
timents, and  not  associations  of  conceptions  with  conceptions,  or 
merely  of  ideas  with  ideas.  The  whole  classes  of  ideas  formed  by 
the  Knowing  and  Reflecting  Faculties  may  be  associated  ad  infini- 
tum., if  these  ideas  do  not  become  linked  with  the  propensities  and 
sentiments,  and  no  moral  prejudices  will  arise. 

In  studying   the   laws   of  association,   therefore,  we   must  go 


ASSOCIATION.  505 

beyond  the  ideas  themselves,  and  consider  the  faculties  which  form 
them.  If  the  faculties  be  kept  in  view,  the  whole  phenomena  of 
association  will  appear  lucid  and  intelligible  ;  and  we  shall  find 
nature  confirming  our  principles,  because  they  will  be  founded  on 
her  laws.  We  shall  see  the  individual  who  has  the  Reflecting 
faculties  most  powerful,  associating  ideas  according  to  the  relation 
of  necessary  consequence  ;  we  shall  perceive  him  who  has  the 
Knowing  Faculties  most  powerful,  associating  ideas  according  to 
the  relations  of  time,  place,  and  circumstances  ;  and,  very  often, 
although  not  always,  we  shall  find  each  individual  associating  with 
most  facility,  and  recollecting  most  perfectly  those  ideas,  which 
minister  to  the  gratification  of  his  most  powerful  propensities  or 
sentiments.  See  examples  of  association  of  colors  on  page  378 
of  this  work.  If  we  seek  only  for  relations  among  individual  ideas 
themselves,  or  for  general  laws,  according  to  which  ideas  are 
associated  in  all  individuals,  our  researches  will  never  be  crowned 
with  success.  No  stronger  proof  of  this  fact  could  be  found,  than 
the  circumstance,  that,  although  different  individuals  will  use  the 
same  process  of  reasoning  to  produce  the  same  conviction,  yet  no 
two  will  state  their  arguments  in  the  same  words,  or  make  use 
of  the  same  illustrations.  The  general  identity  of  the  reasoning 
process  depends  on  the  identity  of  the  constitution  of  the  faculties 
which  reason  ;  but  difference  in  words  and  illustration  arises  from 
the  particular  combination  of  organs  belonging  to  the  individual,  and 
from  the  circumstances  in  which  he  has  been  placed,  which  afford 
his  faculties  the  particular  materials  which  he  uses. 

In  all  ages,  unprincipled  individuals  have  availed  themselves  of 
the  law  of  association  before  explained,  to  enslave  the  minds  of 
their  fellow  men.  By  means  of  early  impressions,  they  have 
connected  certain  practices  and  notions  favorable  to  their  own 
power,  with  the  sentiments  of  Cautiousness,  Conscientiousness 
and  Veneration  in  the  people,  and  thereby  caused  them  to  fear 
objects  existing  only  in  imagination,  and  to  perform  actions  incon- 
sistent with  the  welfare  of  society.  Phrenology  will  tend  to  bring 
this  species  of  tyranny  to  an  end.  Each  faculty  has  a  sphere  of 
legitimate  action,  established  by  the  Creator,  which  is  in  harmony 
64 


506  PASSION. 

with  every  interest  that  he  acknowledges  as  pure  and  beneficial ; 
but  there  is  also  a  boundless  field  of  abuse  of  each,  favorable  to 
base  and  selfish,  purposes.  While  the  faculties  themselves,  and 
their  relations  to  each  other,  and  external  objects,  ai-e  unknown, 
and  the  human  intellect  is  uncultivated  and  ignorant,  it  is  extremely 
difficult  for  ordinary  minds  to  distinguish  accurately  the  boundaries 
of  right ;  and  hence  a  wide  door  is  opened  to  abuse  of  every 
power.  From  this  cause  error  is  extensively  mixed  up  with  truth, 
and  deliberately  so,  by  the  unprincipled,  who  hope  to  profit  by 
delusion  ;  hence  the  opinions  and  institutions  of  society  in  most 
countries  present  a  feeble  and  inconsistent  appearance  ;  so  that,  in 
the  moral  v/orld,  we  perceive  little  of  that  magnificent  power  and 
comprehensive  design,  applied  for  benevolent  ends,  which  are 
so  conspicuous  in  physical  creation.  In  this  state  of  things,  it  is 
not  difficult  to  impress  false  and  prejudicial  notions  on  the  minds 
of  youth,  and  to  support  them  through  life  by  observances  fitted 
to  give  them  permanence  ;  and  on  this  basis  individual  interest 
erects  its  baneful  structures.  But  when  the  faculties,  and  their 
relations,  shall  be  generally  studied,  and  knowledge  of  their  legiti- 
mate spheres  of  action  shall  be  obtained,  the  discovery  will  be 
made,  that  creation  is  constituted  in  harmony  only  with  their  proper 
manifestations,  and  then  acute  perception  of  right,  with  high  deter- 
mination to  piu'sue  it,  will  take  the  place  of  groping  blindness,  and 
irresolute  imbecility,  which  now  characterize  the  moral  aspects  of 
society  in  many  countries  of  the  world. 

PASSION  is  the  highest  degree  of  activity  of  every  faculty; 
and  the  passions  are  as  different  as  the  faculties  :  Thus,  a.passion 
for  glory,  is  the  result  of  a  high  activity  of  the  Love  of  Approbation; 
a  passion  for  money,  of  Acquisitiveness;  a  passion  for  music,  of 
the  faculty  of  Tune  ;  a  passion  for  metaphysics,  of  Causality. 
Hence  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  factitious  passions,  although 
such  are  spoken  of  in  various  books.  Man  cannot  alter  his  nature; 
and  every  object  that  he  can  desire  must  be  desired  in  consequence 
of  its  tending  to  gratify  some  natural  faculty. 

"Locke,  and   many  modern   writers,"  says    Dr.    Spurzheim, 


PATIENCE   AND    IMPATIENCE.  507 

"maintain  that  cliildren  are  destitute  of  passions;  and  it  is  true, 
that  there  is,  in  adults,  one  passion  which  is  not  observed  in  chil- 
dren, the  passion  of  love.  There  have  been,  however,  some 
individuals,  who,  at  three  or  four  years  of  age,  have  felt  pas- 
sionately this  propensity;  and,  in  general,  the  greater  number  of 
inclinations  manifest  themselves  with  energetic  activity  in  children. 
The  opponents  of  Phrenology,  for  the  most  part,  confound  the 
objects  upon  which  the  pai'ticular  faculties  act  at  different  ages, 
with  the  inclinations  themselves.  Children,  it  is  true,  have  no 
inclination  to  defraud  the  orphan  of  his  inheritance,  or  to  conquer 
kingdoms  :  but  they  sometimes  deceive  one  another  for  a  bird's 
nest;  they  fight  for  playthings,  and  they  are  proud  to  occupy  the 
first  place  at  school;"  and  the  same  faculties  which  give  the 
desires  for  these  objects,  when  differently  directed  in  after-life, 
produce  the  various  passions  v/hich  characterize  our  maturer  years. 
The  boy  who  is  extremely  mortified  at  losing  a  place,  and  burns 
with  a  desire  to  stand  at  the  top  of  his  class,  will  not  be  destitute 
of  ambition  when  a  man. 

PLEASURE  and  PAIN  are  affections  of  every  faculty. 
Every  faculty,  when  indulged  in  its  natural  action,  feels  pleasure  ; 
*'  when  disagreeably  affected  feels  pain:  consequently  the  kinds  of 
pain  and  pleasure  are  as  numerous  as  the  faculties.  Hence  one 
individual  delights  in  generously  pardoning  offences,  and  another 
in  taking  revenge  ;  one  is  happy  in  the  possession  of  riches,  and 
another  glories  in  disdaining  the  vanities  of  mankind."  Thus, 
"  pain  and  pleasure  are  the  result,  and  not  the  cause,  of  the  par- 
ticular faculties."* 

PATIENCE,  and  IMPATIENCE.  Patience  as  a  positive 
feeling,  arises  from  large  developement  of  Benevolence,  Venera- 
tion, Hope,  Conscientiousness,  and  Firmness,  combined  with  small 
Self-Esteem.  This  combination  is  accompanied  with  meekness, 
humility,  constancy  and  resignation  ;  the  constituent  elements  of 
a  patient   and   enduring   spirit.     Apathy  may  arise  from  a  highly 

"^Dr.  Spurzheim's  New  Physiognomical  System. 


508  JOY    AND  GRIEF. 

lymphatic  temperament,  or  great  deficiency  of  brain  ;  by  persons 
ignorant  of  human  nature,  this  state  is  sometimes  mistaken  for 
patience  ;  just  as  the  extinction  of  thought  and  feehng  in  a  nation, 
is  mistaken  by  a  despot  for  the  repose  of  contentment. 

An  individual  possessing  an  active  temperament,  and  Self- 
Esteem,  Combativeness  and  Destructiveness,  larger  than  Benevo- 
lence, Veneration,  and  Conscientiousness,  will  be  impatient  of 
opposition  and  contradiction ;  one  in  whom  Tune,  Time,  and 
Ideality  ai-e  large,  will  be  impatient  of  bad  music  ;  one  in  whom 
Benevolence,  Conscientiousness,  and  Causality  are  large,  will  be 
impatient  of  hypocritical  and  selfish  conduct.  If  the  nervous  and 
sanguine  temperaments  predominate,  the  organs  are  very  active, 
and  the  individual  will  be  impatient  of  all  slow  prosing  movements, 
whether  in  speech  or  actions. 

JOY  and  GRIEF.  Mr.  Hume  enters  into  a  very  acute  and 
refined  analysis,  to  show  that  grief  and  joy  are  merely  mixtures  of 
hope  and  fear.  After  treating  of  several  passions,  he  continues 
thus  :  "  None  of  these  passions  seem  to  contain  any  thing  curious 
or  remarkable,  except  hope  and  fear,  which,  being  derived  from 
the  probability  of  any  good  or  evil,  are  mixed  passions,  that  merit 
our  attention." 

"Probability,"  says  he,  "arises  from  an  opposition  of  contraiy 
choices  or  causes,  by  which  the  mind  is  not  allowed  to  fix  on 
either  side  ;  but  is  incessantly  tossed  from  one  to  another,  and  is 
determined  one  moment  to  consider  an  object  as  existent,  and 
another  moment  as  ttie  contrary." 

"  Suppose,  then,  that  the  object  concerning  which  we  are  doubt- 
ful, produces  either  desire  or  aversion,  it  is  evident  that,  according 
as  the  mind  turns  itself  to  one  side  or  the  ether,  it  must  feel  a 
momentary  impression  of  joy  or  sorrow." 

"  The  passions  of  fear  and  ho}^?  may  arise,  when  the  chances 
are  equal  on  both  sides,  and  no  superiority  can  be  discovered  in 
one  above  the  other.  Nay,  in  this  situation,  the  passions  are 
rather  the  strongest,  as  the  mind  has  then  the  least  foundation  to 
rest  upon,  and  is  tossed  with  the  greatest  uncertaintv.     Throw  in  a 


JOY  AND  GRIEF.  '509 

superior  degree  of  probability  to  the  side  of  grief,  you  immediately 
see  that  passion  diffuse  itself  over  the  composition,  and  tincture  it 
with  fear.  Increase  the  probability,  and  by  that  means  the  grief; 
the  fear  prevails  still  more,  till  at  last  it  runs  insensibly,  as  the  joy 
continually  diminishes,  into  pure  grief.  After  you  have  brought  it 
to  this  situation,  diminish  the  grief  by  a  contrary  operation  to  that 
which  increased  it,  to  wit,  by  diminishing  the  probability  on  the 
melancholy  side,  and  you  will  see  the  passion  clear  every  moment, 
till  it  changes  insensibly  into  hope  ;  which  again  runs,  by  sloV 
degrees,  into  joy,  as  you  increase  that  part  of  the  composition  by 
the  increase  of  the  probabihty."  Mr.  Hume  concludes  by  this 
question  :  "  Are  not  these  as  plain  proofs  that  the  passions  of  Fear 
and  Hope  are  mixtures  of  Grief  and  Joy,  as  in  optics  it  is  a  proof 
that  a  colored  ray  of  the  sun,  passing  through  a  prism,  is  a  compo- 
sition of  two  others,  when,  as  you  diminish  or  increase  the  quantity 
of  either,  you  find  it  prevail  proportionally,  more  or  less,  in  the 
composition  ?  "* 

These  views  are  exceedingly  ingenious,  and,  to  a  certain 
extent,  sound  ;  but  Phrenology  presents  us  with  still  more  distinct 
and  accurate  elucidations  of  the  nature  of  grief  and  joy.  Each 
propensity  desires  to  attain  its  object,  and  the  attainment  affords 
to  the  mind  a  feeling  of  gratification.  Acquisitiveness  desires 
wealth ;  Love  of  Approbation  longs  for  praise  and  distinction,  and 
Self-Esteem  pants  for  authority.  The  obtaining  of  wealth  grati- 
fies Acquisitiveness  ;  this  is  attended  with  pleasing  emotions,  and 
these  emotions  constitute  Joy.  The  losing  of  wealth  robs  Acqui- 
sitiveness of  its  object ;  this,  again,  is  accompanied  with  painful 
sensations,  and  these  are  grief.  The  same  remarks  may  be 
applied  to  Love  of  Approbation,  Self-Esteem,  or  Philoprogenl- 
tiveness.  When  a  lovely  child  is  born,  the  delight  experienced 
by  the  parents  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  ardor  of  their  desire 
for  offspring  ;  or,  in  other  words,  their  joy  will  be  great  in  propor- 
tion to  the  gratification  of  their  Philoprogenitiveness.  If  they  lose 
the  child,  their  grief  will  be  severe  in  proportion  to  the  intensity 
of  this  feeling,  lacerated  by  the  removal  of  its  object.     In  all  these 

*  Hume's  Dissertation  on  the  Passions,  sect.  1. 


510  JOY  AND  GRIEF. 

instances  we  find  joy  and  grief  existing  without  involving  either 
hope  or  fear. 

Let  us  now  advert  to  Mr.  Hume's  analysis.  Cautiousness  and 
Hope  are  both  prinnitive  sentiments,  the  former  producing  fear, 
and  the  latter  an  emotion  sui  generis,  attended  with  delight.  Both 
have  relation  to  future  objects,  and  in  this  respect  differ  from  the 
other  faculties,  the  gratification  of  which  relates  to  present  time  ; 
but  this  circumstance  does  not  change  the  laws  of  their  operation. 
If  the  prospect  of  future  evil  be  presented  to  the  mind,  this  excites 
Cautiousness,  and  fear  is  produced  ;  this  emotion  is  painful,  but 
fear  is  not  grief.  It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  there  must 
be  the  fear  of  something ;  and  as  evil  is  a  disagreeable  affection  of 
some  primitive  faculty,  of  Acquisitiveness  or  Philoprogenitiveness 
for  example,  Cautiousness  is  never  affected  alone,  but  always  in 
conjunction  with  some  other  power.  Thus,  if  a  son  is  sick,  Cau- 
tiousness fears  that  he  will  die,  and  Philoprogenitiveness  is  pain- 
fully affected  by  the  prospect  of  that  event,  which  painful  emotion 
is  grief.  Here  fear  and  grief  are  conjoined;  but  they  arise  from 
different  sources,  and  although  the /ear  cannot  exist  without  the 
grief,  in  some  degree  or.  other,  yet  the  grief  might  exist  without 
the /ear  ;  and  would  do  so,  if  the  child  were  carried  in  a  corpse 
without  a  moment's  warning.  In  the  same  way,  if  a  person 
hopes,  he  must  hope  for  something.  If  for  gaining  £1000,  the 
prospect  gratifies  Acquisitiveness,  and  this  is  joy.  Here  the  active 
Hope  and  gratified  Acquisitiveness  mingle  in  producing  Joy,  but 
still  their  sources  are  separate  ;  and  if  the  £  1000  were  realized, 
Joy  would  exist  without  the  Hope,  although  Hope  can  scarcely 
be  active  without  Joy.  The  principles  here  unfolded  will  be  found 
to  elucidate  every  instance  of  the  operation  of  Hope  and  Fear, 
Joy  and  Grief,  which  can  be  supposed,  and  this  is  a  strong  proof 
that  we  have  found  the  truth.  They  explain  beautifully,  for 
instance,  how,  with  many  individuals,  the  anticipation  of  good  is 
more  delightful  than  the  enjoyment  of  it.  If  Acquisitiveness  and 
Hope  be  both  strong,  the  prospect  of  gain  excites  and  gratifies 
both  faculties  at  once  ;  whereas,  tlie  actual  attainment  pleases 
only  Acquisitiveness,  and  excludes  Hope*     But  Hope  being  one 


SYMPATHY.  511 

of  the  higher  sentiments,  and  Acquisitiveness  only  a  lower 
propensity,  the  delights  attending  the  activity  of  the  former  are 
greatly  more  elevated  and  excellent  than  those  accompanying  the 
latter;  and  it  is  easy  to  conceive  that  the  exercise  of  both  must  be 
more  delightful  than  that  of  either  separately,  and  that  when 
Hope  is  dropped  from  the  combination,  the  better  half  of  the 
pleasure  is  gone. 

The  converse  of  this  holds  equally  good.  The  prospect  of  dis- 
tant evil  is  more  painful  than  the  experience  of  it  when  actually 
present.  "While  the  loss  of  a  child  is  contemplated  at  a  distance, 
Cautiousness  adds  its  melancholy  and  heart-sinking  fears  to  the 
pains  of  a  wounded  Philoprogenitiveness  ;  but  when  the  event 
happens,  the  influence  of  Cautiousness  is  withdrawn,  Philoprogeni- 
tiveness alone  suffers,  and  the  actual  distress  is  less  grievous  than 
the  anticipation  of  it. 

Great  wisdom  and  benevolence  on  the  part  of  the  Creator  are 
displayed  in  this  constitution  of  our  minds ;  for  we  are  thereby 
prompted,  with  double  ardor,  to  avoid  evil,  while  yet  at  a  dis- 
tance and  subject  to  control  from  our  efforts. 

SYMPATHY  *  may  be  defined  to  be  a  fellow  feeling,  in  one 
person,  with  emotions  experienced  by  another.  By  attending  to 
the  laws  which  regulate  the  activity  of  the  mental  faculties,  we 
shall  discover  the  true  nature  of  this  affection,  and  the  circum- 
stances most  favorable  to  its  occurrence. 

Every  internal  faculty,  like  each  of  the  external  senses,  is  most 
powerfully  and  most  agreeably  roused  to  activity  by  the  direct 
presentment  of  its  own  objects  ;  Cautiousness,  for  instance,  by  the 
aspect  of  danger  ;  Benevolence,  by  that  of  suffering  ;  and  so  on. 
Hence,  if  two  individuals  of  nearly  similar  constitutions  of  mind  be 
exposed  to  the  operation  of  the  same  external  causes,  the  same 
facuhies  being  called  into  activity  in  both,  will  give  rise  to  similar 
emotions  ;  and  they  may  then  be  said  to  syrripathize  with  each 

*  lam  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Dr.  A.  Combe  for  the  following  observations 
on  Sympathy. 


512  SYMPATHY. 

Other.     This  is  one  kind  of  sympathy,  but  it  is  not  the  state  of 
mind  to  which  that  term  is  most  correctly  applied. 

The  next  source  of  stimulus  to  the  faculties,  is  that  afforded  by 
Natural  Language.  When  any  faculty  is  predominantly  active,  it 
gives  a  peculiar  expression  to  the  features,  and  certain  determinate 
attitudes  to  the  body,  the  import  of  which  is  instinctively  under- 
stood by  all  who  possess  the  same  faculty  even  in  a  moderate 
degree.  Thus,  Self-Esteem  being  predominantly  active,  commu- 
nicates to  the  body  a  cold,  formal,  erect,  and  haughty  air.  This 
air  is  recognised  instinctively  by  the  spectator  as  indicating  exces- 
sive pride  in  the  individual  who  exhibits  it ;  and  it  is  called  the 
natural  language  of  Self-Esteem.*  Now,  by  a  law  of  our  consti- 
tution, the  natural  language  of  any  active  faculty  invariably  excites 
the  same  faculty  to  activity,  and,  consequently,  gives  rise  to  the 
same  emotions,  in  the  minds  of  those  who  witness  it.  The  for- 
bidding strut  of  great  Self-Esteem,  for  instance,  in  a  person  whom 
we  never  saw  before,  addresses  itself  directly  to  our  Self-Esteem  ; 
we  instinctively  draw  up^  and  feel  moved  to  support  our  own 
consequence  by  a  coldness  proportioned  to  his.  In  like  manner, 
when  we  meet  for  the  first  time  with  a  person  whose  countenance 
and  gestures  express  kindness,  candor,  and  open-hearted  friend- 
ship, which  are  the  natural  language  of  active  Benevolence,  Consci- 
entiousness, and  Adhesiveness,  the  same  emotions  are  excited  in 
ourselves,  and  we  instinctively  return  his  advances  with  a  kindness 
corresponding  to  his  own.  Or,  let  us  imagine  that  we  hurry  to 
meet  a  friend,  whom  we  expect  to  find  all  happiness  and  gaiety, 
and  that,  instead  of  this,  seriousness,  anxiety,  and  grief,  are  depict- 
ed on  his  countenance,  and  indicated  by  his  gestures,  these  being 
the  natural  language  of  Cautiousness  and  other  faculties  painfully 
affected,  will  call  up  a  corresponding  affection  of  the  same  faculties 
in  our  minds,  and,  without  knowing  what  has  distressed  him,  our 
features  and  attitudes  will  instantly  assume  an  expression  conso- 
nant with  his  own.  It  is  to  this  involuntary  and  almost  uncon* 
scious  communication  of  feelings  and  emotions  from  the  mind  of 

*  See  p.  107,  for  observations  on  Natural  Language. 


SYMPATHY.  513 

one  individual  to  that  of  another,  through  the  medium  of  natural 
language,  that  the  term  Sympathy  is  most  properly  applied. 

An  excellent  illustration  of  this  kind  of  sympathy  is  to  be  found 
in  the  effects  of  a  panic,  or  excessively  excited  Cautiousness,  in 
one  individual,  exciting  the  same  feeling  in  all  who  behold  it. 
The  very  sight  of  a  panic-stricken  person,  when  we  do  not  know 
the  cause  which  has  given  rise  to  the  alarm,  excites  a  general' 
uneasiness  about  our  own  safety;  and  if  a  great  number. of  persons 
together,  and  at  the  same  instant,  perceive  the  terrified  expression, 
it  instantly  rouses  the  faculty  of  Cautiousness  to  its  highest  pitch  of 
activity  in  all  of  them,  and  produces  the  most  intense  feelings  of 
dread  and  alarm.  Such  are  the  causes  and  origin  of  panics  in 
battles  and  in  mobs  ;  and  hence  the  electric  rapidity  with  which 
passions  of  every  kind  pervade  and  agitate  the  minds  of  assembled 
multitudes. 

Another  and  very  familiar  example  of  this  kind  of  sympathy  may 
be  seen  in  a  crowded  city.  Let  any  one  in  passing  along  London 
Bridge,  for  instance,  stop  short,  and  turn  up  his  face,  with  his 
mouth  half  open,  as  if  stupified  with  wonder  and  amazement,  and 
immediately  the  same  expression,  being  the  natural  language  of 
Individuality  and  Wonder,  will  be  transferred  to  the  countenances 
of  nine-tenths  of  the  passengers,  not  one  of  whom,  of  course,  will 
be  able  to  assign  any  direct  cause  for  the  emotion  with  which  his 
mind  will  be  filled.  As  the  propensities  and  sentiments  employ 
the  intellect  to  minister  to  their  gratification,  if  the  wag  happens 
to  say  that  it  is  something  vastly  surprising  in  the  heavens  which 
attracts  his  gaze,  the  majority  of  the  curious  in  wonders  will  soon, 
by  a  stretch  of  intellectual  conception,  come  to  perceive  some- 
thing where  nothing  actually  exists. 

True  sympathy,  then,  arises  from  the  natural  language  of  any 
active  feeling  in  one  individual  exciting  the  same  feeling  in  another, 
"  antecedent  to  any  knowledge  of  what  excited  it  in  the  person 
principally  concerned  ;"  and,  therefore,  as  the  stimulus  of  natural 
language  is  secondary  or  inferior  in  power  to  that  derived  from 
the  direct  presentment  of  the  objects  of  any  faculty,  it  is  easy  to 
explain  why  the  person  who  feels  sympathetically,  feels  less  deeply 
65 


514  SYMPATHY. 

than  the  person  with  whom  he  sympathizes.  The  same  principle 
explains,  also,  why  all  men  do  not  sympathize  in  the  same  degree, 
and  why,  in  some  cases,  the  spectator  does  not  sympathize  at  all. 
If  the  objects  presented  are  such  as  to  afford  a  direct  stimulus  to  a 
different  faculty  in  us,  from  that  exhibited  in  activity  by  another, 
it  follows,  that,  in  virtue  of  the  stronger  influence  of  the  direct 
excitement,  the  particular  faculty  which  it  addresses  will  be  roused 
into  higher  activity  than  the  one  which  has  only  the  less  powerful 
stimulus  of  natural  language,  and  thus  a  totally  dissimilar  emotion 
will  be  experienced.  For  example,  let  us  suppose,  that  a  man 
with  a  good  endowment  of  Combativeness  is  attacked  on  the  high- 
way. The  menacing  looks  and  gestures  (the  natural  language  of 
Combativeness)  displayed  by  the  aggressor,  instantly  rouse  the 
same  faculty  into  energetic  action  in  the  defender,  and  force  is 
repelled  by  force.  But,  suppose  that  the  attack  is  made  upon  a 
woman  or  an  individual,  in  whom  Combativeness  is  only  moderate, 
and  in  whom  Cautiousness  predominates,  the  attack  then  becomes 
a  direct  stimulus  to  Cautiousness,  which,  being  excited,  produces 
fear ;  and  the  direct  stimulus  of  Cautiousness  overpowering  the 
indirect  stimulus  of  Combativeness,  submission  or  flight  is  resorted 
to,  rather  than  defence. 

Dr.  Adam  Smith  *  supposes,  that  there  are  emotions  with  which 
we  have  no  sympathy.  "  The  furious  behavior  of  an  angry  man," 
says  he,  "  is  more  likely  to  exasperate  us  against  himself  than 
against  his  enemies."  According  to  the  theory,  however,  of  sym- 
pathy, that  it  excites  in  us  the  same  emotion  which  others  feel,  this 
opinion  seems  to  be  untenable.  If  Combativeness  in  one  excites, 
by  sympathy,  Combativeness  in  another,  which  I  hold  it  to  do,  it 
follows,  that,  as  the  function  of  Combativeness  is  to  attack  or  to 
repel  attack,  when  that  faculty  is  roused,  it  must,  from  its  very 
constitution,  exert  itself  against  something  or  somebody.  If  we 
know  the  cause  of  the  anger  and  approve  of  it,  and  direct  our 
Combativeness  against  the  angry  man's  enemies,  this  is  clearly 
sympathy  in  every  sense  of  the  term.  But  if  wt  disapprove  of 
the  cause,  then  he  himself  becomes  the  object  of  our  combative- 
*  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments,  p.  32. 


SYMPATHY.  515 

ness  ;  and  in  popular  language  it  may  be  said,  that,  in  this  case, 
we  do  not  sympathize  with  him;  but  it  must  be  observed,  Isf, 
That  the  activity  of  Combativeness  in  him  is  the  cause  af  rousing 
the  same  faculty  in  us  ;  and,  2dly,  That  the  reason  of  its  being 
directed  against  himself  is  to  be  found  in  his  having  outraged, 
by  his  conduct,  our  moral  sentiments,  and  presented  us  with  an 
object  (an  unreasonably  furious  man)  which  stimulates  them  direct- 
ly; and  they  being  excited,  determine  the  direction  which  Com- 
bativeness shall  take.  The  same  reasoning  apphes  to  the  sym- 
pathy of  Self-Esteem  and  of  other  faculties,  hitherto  supposed  not 
to  sympathize. 

The  proof  that  we  do  sympathize  with  anger,  when  properly 
directed,  as  well  as  with  grief  or  pity,  is  to  be  found  in  the  cor- 
diality with  which  we  approve  of  and  indeed  encourage  a  just 
degree  of  it.  Fortunately,  in  the  case  of  Combativeness,  as  well 
as  of  all  the  other  propensities,  our  sympathy,  beyond  certain 
hmits,  is  soon  arrested  by  the  direct  stimulus  which  the  moral 
sentiments  receive  from  the  conduct  of  the  angry  person,  and  by 
the  deep  sense  of  their  inherent  supremacy  which  is  then  felt.  In 
consequence  we  sympathize  with  or  approve  of  the  actions  pro- 
duced by  the  lower  faculties  of  others,  only  when  these  are  guided 
by  the  faculties  proper  to  man.  For  example,  we  never  sympa- 
thize with  Combativeness  when  indulged  for  the  mere  pleasure  of 
fighting  ;  or  of  Destrucliveness,  when  gratified  for  the  mere  delight 
of  being  ferocious  ;  or  of  Acquisiiiveness,  when  directed  to  the 
sole  purpose  of  accumulating  wealth.  But  we  sympathize  with 
the  action  of  all  these  faculties,  when  directed  by  justice  and 
understanding.  Such,  however,  is  the  beautiful  constitution  of 
our  nature,  that  we  sympathize  with  the  action  of  the  sentiments 
proper  to  man,  even  when  unmingled  with  any  other  motive  ;  for 
example,  we  sympathize  with  Benevolence,  from  the  mere  glow 
of  charity;  with  Veneration,  from  the  mere  inward  feeling  of  devo- 
tion ;  with  Justice,  from  the  pure  dictates  of  Conscientiousness ; 
and  actions  done,  apparently  from  the  impulses  of  these  faculties, 
lose  their  character  of  purity  and  excellence  in  our  estimation, 
in  exact  proportion  to  the  alloy  of  the  inferior  faculties  which  we 


516  SYMPATHY. 

perceive  to  be  mingled  with  them.  Kindness,  in  which  we  per- 
ceive interest,  is  always  less  valued  than  when  pure  and  unadulter- 
ated. Activity,  in  the  service  of  the  public,  loses  its  merits  in  our 
eyes,  in  exact  proportion  as  we  perceive  the  motive  to  be  the 
Love  of  Approbation,  unmingled  with  Conscientiousness  and  true 
Benevolence.  These  facts  prove  the  accuracy  of  the  phrenolog- 
ical doctrine,  that  the  higher  faculties  are  made  to  govern  the 
lower  ;  and  it  proves  the  curious  circumstance,  that  man  is  con- 
scious of  possessing  feelings,  necessary,  no  doubt,  in  themselves, 
but  of  the  gratification  of  which,  when  undirected  by  the  superior 
powers,  he  himself  disapproves.  Even  the  higher  sentiments, 
however,  must,  to  be  approved  of,  act  conformably  to  the  under- 
standing ;  and  excess  of  veneration,  of  benevolence,  or  of  scrupu- 
losity, is  always  regarded  as  weakness,  just  as  excess  of  any  lower 
propensity  is  regarded  as  vice. 

The  doctrine  of  sympathy  leads  to  valuable  practical  conse- 
quences. The  natural  language  of  any  faculty  is  intelligible  to  and 
excites  the  same  faculty  in  another,  and  this  simple  principle 
explains  why  harshness  is  much  less  powerful  than  mildness  in 
commanding  the  services  of  others.  Harshness  is  the  natural  lan- 
guage of  active  Self-Esteem,  Combativeness,  and  Firmness  :  in 
virtue  of  the  above  rule,  it  naturally  excites  the  same  faculties  in 
those  against  whom  it  is  directed,  and  an  instinctive  tendency  to 
resistance  or  disobedience  is  the  result.  Among  the  uneducated 
classes  this  process  is  exhibited  every  day.  A  parent,  in  a  harsh 
and  angry  tone,  commands  a  child  to  do,  or  to  abstain  from  doing, 
something ;  the  child  instinctively  resists ;  and  loud  threatenings 
and  at  last  violence  ensue.  These  last  are  direct  stimulants  to 
Cautiousness  ;  and  overpower  the  faculties  excited,  only  by  the 
indirect  stimulus  of  harshness,  and  obedience  at  last  takes  place. 
This  is  the  uniform  effect  of  the  imperious  commands  :  obedience 
never  ensues  till  consequences  alarming  to  Cautiousness  are  per- 
ceived, and  then  it  is  attended  with  a  grudge.  Veneration,  Con- 
scientiousness, Love  of  Approbation,  and  Benevolence,  on  the 
other  hand,  are  the  faculties  which  lead  to  willing  submission  and 
obedience,  and  to  which,  therefore,  we  ought  to  address  ourselves. 


SYMPATHY,  517 

If  we  stimulate  them,  compliance  will  be  agreeable  to  the  individ- 
ual, and  doubly  beneficial  to  the  person  who  commands. 

This  principle  explains  also  the  force  of  example  m  training  to 
good  conduct,  and  affords  instructive  rules  for  the  proper  education 
of  the  propensities  and  sentiments.  Where  parents  and  seniors 
act  habitually  under  the  influence  of  the  higher  sentiments,  the  same 
sentiments  in  children  not  only  receive  a  direct  cultivation,  but  they 
are  sustained  in  enduring  vivacity  by  the  natural  expression  of  their 
activity  thus  exhibited.  Children  having  the  organs  of  the  senti- 
ments early  developed,  can  judge  of  what  is  right  and  wrong  long 
before  they  can  reason,  and  hence  the  importance  of  always  mani- 
festing before  them  the  supremacy  of  the  sentiments.  Much  of  the 
effect  of  example  upon  future  character  has  been  ascribed  to  Imi- 
tation ;  but  although  this  has  an  influence,  T  am  persuaded  that  it  is 
small  compared  with  that  of  Sympathy  as  now  unfolded. 

There  is  a  state  of  mind  which  has  been  confounded  with  Sym- 
pathy, but  which  arises  from  the  direct  excitement  of  the  faculties, 
by  their  own  objects.  When  we  see  a  stroke  aimed  and  ready  to 
fall  upon  the  leg  or  arm  of  another  person,  we  naturally  shrink  and 
draw  back  our  own  leg  or  ai-m,  and  when  it  does  fall,  we  in  some 
measure  feel  it,  and  are  hurt  by  it  as  well  as  the  sufferer.  Dr. 
Adam  Smith  proceeds  to  explain  this  by  saying,  that  our  fellow 
feeling  here  arises  from  our  changing  places  in  fancy  with  the  suf- 
ferer. Thus,  if  our  brother  is  upon  the  rack,  says  he,  "  By  the 
imagination  we  place  ourselves  in  his  situation,  we  conceive  our- 
selves enduring  all  the  same  torments  ;  we  enter  as  it  were  into  his 
body,  and  become  in  some  measure  the  same  person  with  him,  and 
thence  form  some  idea  of  his  sensations,  and  even  feel  something, 
which,  though  weaker  in  degree,  is  not  altogether  unlike  them. 
His  agonies  thus  brought  home  to  ourselves,  when  we  have  thus 
adopted,  and  made  them  our  own,  begin  at  last  to  affect  us,  and 
we  then  tremble  and  shudder  at  the  thought  of  what  he  feels."* 

This  theory,  however,  appears  to  be  incorrect,  for  we  often  feel 
intensely  for  another's  misery,  without,  even  in  idea,  changing 
places  with  him.  In  beholding  suffering,  we  feel  deep  commis- 
*  Theory  of  Moral  SentimentSj  p.  30. 


518  SYMPATHY. 

eration  with  its  object,  simply  because  the  faculty  of  Benevolence, 
the  function  of  which  is  to  manifest  this  emotion,  is  a  primitive 
mental  power,  having  the  same  relation  to  external  misery  or  pain, 
as  light  has  to  the  eye  ;  and  as  such  it  is  as  instantly  and  irresistibly 
roused  by  presentment  of  a  suffering  object,  as  the  eye  is  by  the 
admission  of  light,  or  the  ear  by  the  percussion  of  sounds.  In 
witnessing  another's  misery,  we,  in  virtue  of  this  constitution  of 
mind,  first  feel  the  emotion  of  pity,  and,  in  proportion  to  its 
strength,  fancy  to  ourselves  the  pain  which  he  endures :  But  the 
pity  always  precedes,  and  the  effort  to  conceive  the  pain  is  the 
effect,  and  not  the  cause  of  the  pity.  Hence  those  who  are 
remarkable  for  a  moderate  endowment  of  Benevolence,  although 
possessing  superior  intellectual  or  conceiving  powers,  never  even 
try  to  fancy  themselves  placed  in  the  situation  of  the  sufferer, 
because  they  feel  no  motive  impelling  them  to  the  attempt.  The 
benevolent  idiot,  on  the  other  hand,  with  scarcely  any  power  of 
conception,  feels  the  most  poignant  distress. 

The  same  principle  explains  our  shrinking  from  a  blow  impend- 
ing over  another.  The  feeling  then  experienced  is  a  compound 
of  Fear  and  Pity,  Cautiousness  and  Benevolence.  Fear  sees  the 
danger,  and  Pity  looks  to  the  consequent  pain.  Danger  is  the 
direct  stimulant  of  Cautiousness,  and  suffering  that  of  Benevolence ; 
and,  therefore,  when  these  objects  are  presented  to  the  mind,  we 
can  no  more  help  feeling  the  corresponding  emotions,  than  we  can 
help  seeing  or  hearing.  The  direct  end  or  function  of  Cautious- 
ness is  the  care  and  preservation  of  self;  therefore,  when  it  is 
excited  by  the  aspect  of  danger,  we  look  exclusively  to  self,  and 
necessarily  draw  in  our  own  leg  or  arm  as  parts  of  ourselves;  but 
this  results  directly  from  the  constitution  of  the  faculty,  and  not 
from  putting  ourselves  in  the  place  of  another.  The  direct  end  or 
function  of  Benevolence,  again,  is  the  good  and  happiness  of  others, 
and  therefore,  when  it  is  excited  by  the  misery  of  another,  it  neces- 
sarily, from  its  very  constitution,  feels  for  them,  and  not  for  us. 

An  active  temperament  greatly  conduces  to  sympathy,  by  pro- 
ducing vivacity  in  all  the  cerebral  functions,  but  this  does  not 
supersede  the  laws  of  sympathy  before  explained. 


HABIT.  519 

HABIT.  Next  to  Association,  Habit  makes  the  most  conspic- 
uous figure  in  the  philosophy  of  Mr.  Stewart.  He  refers  the 
incapacity  of  some  individuals  to  discriminate  colors  to  habits  of 
inattention.  The  powers,  also,  of  wit,  fancy,  and  invention  in  the 
arts  and  sciences,  he  informs  us,  ai-e  not  the  original  gifts  of  nature, 
"but  the  result  of  acquired  habits."*  "The  power  of  taste,  and 
a  genius  for  poetry,  painting,  music  and  mathematics,"  he  states, 
"are  gradually  formed  by  particular  habits  of  study  or  of  busi- 
ness." And  not  only  does  habit  execute  these  magnificent  func- 
tions in  the  system  of  Mr.  Stewart,  but,  in  the  estimation  of 
mdividuals  in  private  life,  it  appears  to  be  viewed  as  almost 
omnipotent.  On  reading  to  a  friend  the  account  of  the  boy 
Gibson's  early  atrocities,  he  attributed  them  all  to  bad  habits 
formed  in  the  Charity  Work-house  of  Glasgow;  on  exhibiting  an 
individual  whose  mental  character  was  directly  opposite,  he  attri- 
buted the  difference  to  good  habits,  formed  under  the  tuition  of 
his  parents.  Thus,  there  are  no  talents  so  transcendent,  and  no 
dispositions  so  excellent  or  so  depraved,  but  habit  is  supposed  by 
many,  at  once,  to  account  for  them  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  super- 
sede the  necessity  of  all  further  investigation.  What,  then,  is 
Habit,  and  what  place  does  it  hold  in  the  Phrenological  System.'' 

Every  voluntary  action  is  a  manifestation  of  some  one  or  more 
faculties  of  the  mind.  "Habit"  is  defined  to  be  "a  power  in  a 
man  of  doing  any  thing  acquired  by  frequent  doing  it."  Now, 
before  it  can  be  done  at  all,  the  faculty  on  which  it  depends  must 
be  possessed ;  and  the  stronger  the  faculty,  the  greater  will  be  the 
facility  with  which  the  individual  will  do  the  thing  at  first,  and  with 
which  he  will  learn  to  repeat  it.  George  Bidder,  for  example, 
the  celebrated  mental  calculator,  has  acquired  the  habit  of  solving, 
in  an  incredibly  short  time,  the  most  extensive  and  intricate  arith- 
metical problems,  without  the  aid  of  notation.  Before  he  could 
begin  to  do  such  a  thing,  he  required  to  possess  the  organ  of 
Number;  possessing  it  largely,  he  made  great  and  rapid  acquisi- 
tions of  skill ;  and  at  seven  years  of  age  estabhshed  the  habit 
which  struck  us  with  so  much  surprise.  Other  individuals  are  to 
*  Elements,  vol.  i.  chap.  v.  p.  1.  sect.  4. 


520  HABIT.  \ 

be  found  endowed  with  a  small  organ  of  Number,  who,  although 
forced  by  circumstances  to  practice  the  use  of  figures,  never 
succeed  in  acquiring  a  habit  of  performing  even  the  simplest 
arithmetical  questions  with  facility  and  success.  This  illustration 
may  be  applied  to  painting,  poetry,  music  and  mathematics. 
Before  the  habit  of  practising  these  branches  of  art  and  science 
can  be  acquired,  the  organs  on  which  they  depend  must  be  largely 
possessed ;  and  being  so,  the  habits  result  spontaneously  from 
exercising  the  powers.  If  a  boy  at  school  acquire  a  habit  of 
quarrelling  and  fighting,  it  is  obvious  that  as  these  acts  are  manifesta- 
tions of  Combativeness,  Destructiveness,  and  Self-Esteem,  he  will 
the  more  readily  acquire  the  habit  the  larger  these  organs  ai-e,  and 
the  less  controlled  by  others.  If  these  organs  are  small,  or  if  tlie 
higher  organs  decidedly  predominate,  the  boy  will  be  naturally 
indisposed  to  quarrelling,  and  will  acquire  the  habit  of  it  with 
great  difficulty,  wherever  he  may  be  placed.  He  may  repel 
unjust  aggressions  made  upon  him,  but  he  will  not  be  the  promoter 
of  mischief,  nor  leader  in  the  broils  of  his  companions. 

Exercise  causes  the  organs  to  act  with  greater  facility,  and  it  is 
in  this  way  that  the  real  efiects  of  habit  on  the  mind,  which  are 
important,  may  be  accounted  for  ;  but  still  the  organ  must  possess 
considerable  natural  power  and  activity,  to  render  it  susceptible  of 
the  exercise  by  which  habit  is  formed.  The  practice  of  debate 
by  advocates  at  the  bar,  gives  them  great  facility  in  delivering 
extempore  harangues,  compared  with  that  enjoyed  by  persons 
whose  avocations  never  lead  them  to  make  speeches  ;  and  this 
facility  may  be  said  to  be  acquired  by  the  habit  of  spealdng  ;  but 
it  will  always  bear  a  proportion  to  the  original  endowment  of  the 
faculties,  and  we  shall  find,  that,  while  habit  gives  to  one  individual 
great  fluency  and  copiousness  of  diction,  it  often  leaves  another  in 
much  poverty  and  embarrassment  of  utterance.  The  powers  of 
both  will  be  greatly  superior  to  what  they  would  have  been  with- 
out the  practice  of  speaking ;  but  disparity  in  eloquence  wiU 
continue  to  characterize  them,  owing  to  differences  11  their  original 
constitution. 

The  metaphysicians,  as  we  have  seen,  attribute  many  important 


TASTE.  521 

mental  phenomena  to  the  effects  of  habit,  and  yet  they  altogether 
neglect  the  mfluence  of  organization  on  the  mind  :  According  to 
our  views,  it  is  the  organ  which  acquires  activity  and  superior 
facility  in  performing  its  functions,  by  being  properly  exercised, 
just  as  the  fingers  of  the  musician  acquire  rapidity  and  facility  of 
motion  by  the  practice  of  playing  ;  and  hence  the  effects  of  habit 
in  giving  readiness  and  ease  are  accounted  for,  in  a  manner  that  is 
at  least  intelligible  and  supported  by  analogy.  The  metaphysi- 
cians, on  the  other  hand,  must  imagine  that  it  is  the  immaterial 
principle  itself  which  improves  by  exercise,  and  gains  strength  by 
habit, — a  notion  which  is  altogether  inconceivable,  and  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  attributes  of  a  purely  spiritual  Being.  The  doctrine  of 
a  plurality  of  organs  also,  explains  why,  by  practising  music,  we 
do  not  acquire  the  habit  of  speaking  or  writing  with  facility,  or 
why,  by  studying  mathematics,  we  do  not  acquire  the  habit  of 
reasoning  deeply  in  moral  or  political  science.  It  teaches  that  the 
organ  of  Tune  is  distinct  from  that  of  Language ;  that  the  organs  of 
Size,  Order,  Locality,  Individuality,  and  Comparison,  on  Avhich 
mathematical  talent  depends,  are  different  from  the  organ  of 
Causality,  by  which  general  reasoning  is  performed  ;  and  that  it  is 
quite  possible  to  exercise  one  organ,  and  leave  another  in  inactivity. 
Those  physiologists,  however,  who  hold  the  brain  to  be  a  single 
organ,  and  every  part  of  it  to  be  employed  in  every  act  of  the 
mind,  require  to  explain  how  it  happens,  that  exercising  it  in  one 
way  does  not  improve  it  in  all ;  or,  in  short,  ( to  use  an  illustration 
applied  by  Dr.  Johnson  to  genius,)  to  inform  us  why  the  man  who 
can  walk  east  is  unable  to  walk  west :  If  the  organs  by  means  of 
which  he  walks  east  be  different  from  those  by  which  he  walks 
west,  no  difficulty  will  occur ;  but  if  they  be  the  same,  the  question 
certainly  will  require  some  portion  of  ingenuity  on  the  part  of  the 
disciples  of  the  old  school  for  its  satisfactory  solution. 

TASTE.     Mr.  Stewart  speaks  of  Taste  as  a  power  or  faculty, 

and,  as  already  mentioned,  supposes  it  to  be  acquired  by  habit.     I 

am  not  aware  that  any  other  metaphysician  coincides  with  him  in 

these  views  ;  but  a  great  deal  has  been  written  upon  the  subject, 

.,       66 


522  TASTE. 

and  no  satisfactory  theory  of  it  yet  exists.  L  shall  point  out  the 
manner  in  which  it  might  be  treated  phrenologically,  but  the 
subject  is  too  extensive  to  allow  me  to  enter  into  it  in  detail. 

In  the^rs^  place,  every  act  of  the  mind  must  be  a  manifestation 
of  some  faculty  or  other  ;  and  every  act  must  be  characterized 
either  by  good  or  bad  taste,  or  be  wholly  indifferent  in  this  re- 
spect. Let  us  inquire  into  the  origin  of  bad  taste,  and  this  will  lead 
us  to  distinguish  its  opposite,  or  correct  taste.  Bad  taste,  then, 
appears  to  arise  from  an  excessive  or  improper  manifestation  of  any 
of  the  faculties.  Lord  Byron  is  guilty  of  very  bad  t^ste  in  some 
passages  of  Don  Juan,  in  which  he  exhibits  the  passion  of  love  in 
all  the  grossness  of  an  animal  feeling  :  this  arises  from  an  excessive 
manifestation  of  Amativeness,  not  purified  and  dignified  by  the 
moral  sentiments  and  reflection.  In  the  same  work,  there  is  a 
scene  in  a  boat,  in  which  Don  Juan  and  his  companions  are  made 
to  devour  his  tutor.  To  a  being  under  the  sole  dominion  of  De- 
structiveness,  such  a  representation  may  perhaps  be  gratifying ; 
but  unless  this  propensity  be  very  powerful,  it  will  be  impossible 
for  any  mind  deliberately  to  invent  and  enjoy  such  a  picture  of 
human  misery.  No  thoughtlessness,  levity,  freak  of  fancy,  or 
other  folly,  could  produce  it,  without  a  predominant  Destructive- 
ness.  This  great  defect  of  taste,  therefore,  may  be  ascribed  to  an 
excessive  manifestation  of  this  faculty,  unrelieved  by  Benevolence, 
or  other  higher  feelings.  Moore,  also,  in  his  eai'lier  verses,  was 
guilty  of  sins  against  taste,  from  excessive  manifestations  of  the 
amative  propensity ;  but  this  error  he  has  greatly  corrected  in  his 
later  productions. 

Faults  in  taste,  however,  arise  not  only  from  unbecoming  mani- 
festations of  the  lower  propensities,  but  also  from  an  inordinate 
expression  of  the  sentiments  and  intellectual  faculties.  In  Peter 
Bell  and  Christabell,  and  in  the  productions  of  the  Lake  School 
of  Poetry  in  general,  much  bad  taste  springs  from  mawkish  and 
infantine  manifestations  of  Benevolence,  Philoprogenitiveness  and 
Adhesiveness.  Even  Ideality  itself  may  be  abused.  It  is  undoubt- 
edly the  fountain  of  beauty,  but  in  excess  it  degenerates  into 
bombast,  rant  and  exaggeration  ;   or  that  species  of  composition 


TASTE.  523 

which  a  contemporary  critic  has  appropriately  designated  by  the 
epithet  of  "  drimken  sublimity."  Wordsworth  affords  examples 
of  errors  in  taste,  arising  from  an  abuse  of  Causality ;  he  introduces 
abstruse  and  unintelligible  metaphysical  disquisitions  into  his  poetry, 
and  mistifies  it,  in  place  of  rendering  it  profound. 

In  like  manner,  the  expression  of  any  sentiment  or  propensity 
in  an  undue  degree  in  conversation  or  conduct,  is  essentially 
characteristic  of  bad  taste.  An  excess  of  vanity,  and  the  tendency 
to  engross  conversation,  is  one  form  of  it  which  occurs  in  soci- 
ety, and  arises  from  over  active  Love  of  Approbation  and  Self- 
Esteem.  The  tendency  to  wrangle,  dispute  and  contradict,  is 
another  fault  which  springs  from  an  excessive  activity  of  Com- 
bativeness.  The  disposition  to  flatter,  and  utter  a  profusion  of 
agreeable  things  to  persons  whom  we  do  not  esteem,  but  wish  to 
please,  is  also  characterized  by  bad  taste,  and  arises  from  an 
improper  manifestation  of  Secretiveness  and  Love  of  Approbation. 

The  question  naturally  occurs.  What  is  the  distinction  betwixt 
bad  taste  and  bad  morality .''  I  would  answer,  that  bad  morality 
always  implies  bad  taste,  for  it  springs  from  an  improper  manifest- 
ation of  some  lower  feeling,  to  the  outrage  of  the  sentiments  of 
Justice,  Benevolence  and  Veneration.  Bad  taste,  however,  may 
occur  without  moral  turpitude,  and  this  arises  from  an  undue 
activity  of  any  of  the  faculties,  without  offence  against  justice. 
The  effeminacies  of  Peter  Bell,  for  example,  stand  low  enough  in 
the  scale  of  taste  ;  but  as  the  greatest  tenderness  for  asses  does 
not  necessarily  imply  any  breach  of  justice  to  other  beings,  the 
taste  only  is  bad,  and  not  the  morality.  In  like  manner,  when  an 
individual,  under  the  influence  of  an  excessive  Self-Esteem  and 
Love  of  Approbation,  constitutes  himself  the  bore  of  a  party,  as 
his  offence  does  not  amount  to  an  attack  upon  such  rights  as  we 
guard  by  the  sentiment  of  justice,  we  set  him  down  as  ill-bred, 
but  not  as  immoral. 

Chesterfield,  and  some  dictators  in  manners,  deliberately  recom- 
mend slight  offences  against  candor,  not  only  as  not  hable  to  the 
imputation  of  bad  taste,  but  as  essential  to  good  taste.  Thus, 
Chesterfield  admits  a  great  deal  of  deceitful  compliance  into  his 


524  TASTE. 

characteristics  of  a  gentleman;  but,  with  great  deference  to  his 
Lordship's  authority,  I  cannot  subscribe  to  the  doctrine  that  bad 
morality  and  good  taste  are  in  any  degree  compatible  in  the  same 
action.  An  individual  may  act  very  improperly  in  many  parts  of 
his  conduct,  and  show  considerable  refinement  in  other  instances; 
and  this  is  easily  understood  ;  for  the  higher  sentiments  may  co- 
exist with  great  animal  propensities,  and  one  occasion  may  call 
forth  the  former,  and  another  excite  only  the  latter,  and  the 
conduct  may  thus  assume  different  aspects  at  different  times  ;  but 
the  question  is,  Whether  the  same  action  can  be  characterized 
both  as  immoral  and  as  possessed  of  good  taste  ?  In  my  opinion 
it  cannot.  It  is  good  taste  to  restrain  the  expression  of  our 
opinions  or  views  in  society,  when  an  opposite  conduct  would 
cause  only  dissensions  and  broils ;  but  this  is  good  morality  also. 
Chesterfield,  however,  goes  farther,  and  allows  an  expression  of 
sentiments,  which  we  do  not  entertain,  if  they  be  pleasing  to  those 
to  whom  they  are  addressed,  as  perfectly  compatible  with  good 
manners  ;  and  this  is  a  breach  of  candor.  This  practice  is  an 
insult  to  the  person  who  is  the  object  of  it  ;  and  if  he  saw  the  real 
motives  he  would  feel  it  to  be  such.  Nothing  which,  when  exam- 
ined in  all  its  lights,  and  its  true  colors,  is  essentially  rude,  can 
possibly  be  correct  in  point  of  taste ;  so  that  it  has  only  the 
appearance,  and  not  the  true  qualities,  of  politeness.  In  short, 
purity  in  the  motive  is  equally  requisite  to  good  taste  as  to  sound 
morality;  for  the  motive  constitutes  the  essence  of  the  action. 

The  sources  of  good  taste  may  now  be  adverted  to.  The 
nervous  and  sanguine  temperaments,  by  giving  fineness  to  the  sub- 
stance, and  vivacity  to  the  action  of  the  brain,  are  highly  conducive 
to  refinement.  All  authors  and  artists  whose  works  are  character- 
ized by  great  delicacy  and  beauty,  have  fine  temperaments  com,- 
bined  with  Ideahty.  The  most  exquisite  mental  manifestations 
are  those  which  proceed  from  a  favorable  combination  of  the 
whole  faculties,  in  which  each  contributes  a  share  of  its  own  good 
qualities,  and  is  restrained  by  the  others  from  running  into  excess 
or  abuse.  Thus,  I  conceive  the  very  admirable  taste  of  Campbell 
the  poet,  to  arise  from  a  great  endowment  of  the  higher  sentiments, 


TASTE.  525 

Reflection  and  Concentrativeness;  so  that,  on  any  feeling  or  image 
occurring  to  his  mind,  these  faculties  judge  by  an  intuitive  tact  of 
its  fitness,  and  modify  it  to  the  point  at  which  it  pleases  them  all. 
If  a  favorable  developement  of  this  kind  be  possessed,  the  higher 
that  Ideality  rises,  not  to  run  into  excess,  and  the  finer  the  temper- 
ament, the  more  perfect  will  be  the  taste.  At  the  same  time,  and 
for  the  same  reason,  there  may  be  much  good  taste,  of  a  simple 
kind,  with  moderate  Ideality,  if  the  other  faculties  be  favorably 
balanced. 

As  Taste  arises  from  fine  quality  of  brain,  and  a  favorable  com- 
bination of  organs,  the  explanation  is  simple,  how  it  may  be  pos- 
sessed without  genius.  Genius  arises  from  great  vigor  and  activity, 
depending  on  large  size,  and  a  high  temperament:  these  are  greater 
endowments  than  equability,  and  an  individual  may  be  deficient  in 
them,  and  yet  be  so  favorably  constituted,  with  respect  to  the  bal- 
ance of  the  powers,  as  to  feel  acutely  the  excellences  or  the  faults 
of  genius  manifested  by  others.  Hence  many  persons  are  really 
excellent  critics,  who  could  not  themselves  produce  original  works 
of  value;  hence  also,  many  original  authors,  of  great  reputation, 
display  very  questionable  Taste. 

In  applying  these  principles  to  actual  cases,  I  find  them  borne 
out  by  numerous  facts.  Dr.  Chalmers  occasionally  sins  against 
taste,  and  in  his  head  Ideality  and  Comparison  are  out  of  due  pro- 
portion to  Causality,  and  some  other  organs.  In  Mr.  Jeffrey's 
bust,  on  the  contrary,  there  is  a  very  beautiful  and  regular  devel- 
opement of  Eventuality,  Comparison,  and  Causality,  with  a  fair 
balance  between  the  propensities  and  sentiments;  and  his  taste  is 
generally  admirable. 

As  good  taste  is  the  result  of  the  harmonious  action  of  the  facul- 
ties, we  are  able  to  perceive  why  taste  is  susceptible  of  so  great 
improvement  by  cultivation.  An  author  will  frequently  reason  as 
profoundly,  or  soar  as  loftily,  in  his  first  essay,  as  after  practice  in 
writing  for  twenty  years;  but  he  rarely  manifests  the  same  tact  at 
the  outset  of  his  career,  as  he  attains  by  subsequent  study,  and 
the  admonitions  of  a  discriminative  criticism.  Reasoning  depends 
on  Causality  and  Comparison,  and  lofty  flights  of  imagination  on 


526  TASTE. 

Ideality;  and  If  the  organs  of  these  faculties  be  large,  they  will 
execute  their  functions  intuitively,  and  carry  the  author  forward, 
from  the  first,  on  a  bold  and  powerful  wing;  but  as  taste  depends 
on  the  balancing  and  adjusting,  the  suppressing  and  elevating,  the 
ordering  and  arranging,  of  our  thoughts,  feelings,  and  emotions,  so 
as  to  produce  a  general  harmony  of  the  whole;  it  is  only  practice, 
reflection,  and  comparison  with  higher  standards,  that  enable  us 
successfully  to  approximate  to  excellence;  and  even  these  will  do 
so  only  when  the  organs  are  by  nature  equably  combined;  for  if 
the  balance  preponderate  greatly  in  any  particular  direction,  no 
effort  will  produce  exquisite  taste. 

Much  has  been  written  about  a  standard  of  Taste;  and  in  con- 
sidering this  question,  a  distinction  requires  to  be  made.  If,  by 
fixing  a  standard,  we  mean  determining  particular  objects,  or  qual- 
ities of  objects,  which  all  men  shall  regard  as  beautiful,  the  attempt 
must  necessarily  be  vain.  A  person  possessing  Form,  Size, 
Constructiveness,  and  Ideality,  may  experience  the  most  exquisite 
emotions  of  beauty  from  contemplating  a  Grecian  Temple,  in 
which  another  individual,  in  whom  these  organs  are  very  deficient, 
may  perceive  nothing  but  stone  and  lime.  One  individual  may 
discover,  in  an  arrangement  of  colors,  beauty  which  is  quite 
imperceptible  to  a  person  deficient  in  the  organ  of  Coloring. 
Or  one  may -be  delighted  with  music,  in  which  another,  through 
imperfection  in  the  organ  of  Tune,  may  perceive  no  melody. 
Thus  no  object,  and  no  qualities  of  objects,  can  be  fixed  upon, 
which  all  mankind,  whatever  be  their  original  constitution,  will 
acknowledge  to  be  equally  beautiful,  and  in  this  view  no  standard 
of  Taste  exists. 

But  degrees  of  Beauty  may  be  estimated,  in  which  sense  a 
scale  at  least,  if  not  a  standard,  of  Taste,  may  be  framed.  The 
more  favorable  the  original  constitution  of  an  individual  is,  and  die 
greater  the  cultivation  bestowed  on  his  powers,  he  becomes  the 
higher  authority  in  questions  of  Taste.  The  existence  of  a  senti- 
ment of  Justice  has  been  denied,  because  individuak  are  found  in 
whom  it  is  so  weak,  as  scarcely  to  influence  their  conduct;  but 
Phrenology,  by  pointing  out  their  defect,  shows  that  these  persons 


EFFECTS    OF    SIZE.  527 

form  exceptions  to  a  general  rule,  and  then  no  one  tliinks  of  appeal- 
ing to  them,  to  determine  whether  an  action  be  just  or  unjust  in' 
any  particular  case.  In  like  manner,  men  deficient  in  the  faculties 
which  give  the  perception  of  Beauty,  are  not  authorities  in  Taste; 
but  that  individual  is  the  highest  judge  in  whom  large  Ideality  is 
combined  with  a  fine  temperament,  and  the  most  favorable  devel- 
opement  of  the  organs  of  propensity,  sentiment,  and  intellect;  and 
who,  besides,  has  exercised  his  faculties  with  the  greatest  assiduity. 
His  determinations  in  regard  to  degrees  of  beauty  in  objects,  will 
form  the  best  standards  of  Taste  which  our  imperfect  nature  is 
capable  of  attaining. 


EFFECTS   OF    SIZE    IN    THE    ORGANS   ON    THE    MANIFESTA- 
TIONS   OF  THE    FACULTIES. 

The  reader  is  referred  to  the  distinction  between  power  and 
ACTIVITY  in  the  mind,  as  stated  on  page  95  of  the  present  work. 
CcRteris  paribus,  size  in  the  organs  is  the  measure  of  power  in  the 
manifestations  of  the  faculties.  The  practical  application  of  this 
doctrine  remains  to  be  stated;  and  it  will  be  understood  now,  after 
the  functions  and  modes  of  activity  of  the  primitive  faculties  have 
been  elucidated. 

As  size  in  the  organs  in  an  indispensable  requisite  to  power  in 
the  mind,  no  instance  ought  to  occur  of  an  individual  who,  with  a 
small  brain,  has  manifested  clearly  and  unequivocally,  great  force 
of  character,  animal,  moral  and  intellectual,  such  as  belonged  to 
Bruce,  Buonaparte,  or  Fox  ;  and  such  accordingly  phrenologists 
affirm  to  be  the  fact.  The  Phrenological  Society  possesses  casts 
of  the  skulls  of  Bruce,  Raphael,  and  La  Fontaine,  and  they  are  all 
large.  The  busts  ahd  portraits  of  Lord  Bacon,  Shakspeare  and 
Buonaparte,  indicate  large  heads  ;  and  among  living  characters  no 
individual  has  occurred  to  my  observation  who  leaves  a  vivid  im- 
pression of  his  own  greatness  upon  the  public  mind,  and  who  yet 
presents  to  their  eyes  only  a  small  brain. 

The  European  head  is  distinguished  from  the  Asiatic  and  native 


528  EFFECTS   OF  SIZE 

American,  not  more  by  diiference  of  form  than  of  size  ;  the  Euro- 
pean is  much  the  larger,  and  the  superior  energy  of  this  variety  of 
mankind  is  known.  The  heads  of  men  are  larger  than  those  of 
women,  and  the  latter  obey;  or  to  bring  the  point  to  the  clearest 
demonstration,  we  require  only  to  compare  the  head  of  an  idiot 
with  that  of  Burke,  or  of  a  cliild  with  that  of  a  full  grown  man,  as 
represented  on  p.  72.  If,  then,  size  is  so  clearly  a  concomitant 
of  power  in  extreme  cases,  we  are  not  to  presume  that  it  ceases 
to  exert  an  influence  where  the  differences  are  so  minute  that  the 
eye  is  scarcely  able  to  detect  them.  The  rule,  Extremis  probatis 
media  prcesumuntur^  is  completely  applicable  here. 

The  doctrine,  that  power  is  a  characteristic  of  mind,  distinguish- 
able at  once  from  mere  intellectual  acumen,  and  also  from  activity, 
is  one  of  great  practical  importance;  and  it  explains  a  variety  of 
phenomena  of  which  we  previously  possessed  no  theory.  In 
society  we  meet  with  persons  whose  whole  manner  is  little,  whom 
we  instinctively  feel  to  be  unfit  for  any  great  enterprise  or  arduous 
duty,  and  who  are,  nevertheless,  distinguished  for  amiable  feeling 
and  good  sense.  This  springs  from  a  small  brain  favorably  pro- 
portioned in  its  parts.  Other  individuals,  again,  with  far  less 
polish,  inferior  information,  and  fewer  amiable  qualities,  impress 
us  with  a  sentiment  of  their  power,  force,  energy,  or  greatness;  we 
instinctively  feel  that  they  have  weight,  and  that,  if  acting  against 
us,  they  would  prove  formidable  opponents.  This  arises  from 
great  size.  Buonaparte,  who  had  an  admirable  tact  in  judging  of 
human  nature,  distinguishes  between  mere  cleverness  and  force  of 
character,  and  almost  always  prefers  the  latter.  In  his  Memoirs, 
he  speaks  of  some  of  his  generals  as  possessing  talents,  intellect, 
book-learning,  but  as  still  being  nobody,  as  wanting  that  weight  and 
comprehensiveness  which  fit  a  man  for  great  enterprises  ;  while  he 
adverts  to  others  as  possessing  limited  intellect  and  little  judgment, 
but  prodigious  force  of  character;  and  considers  them  as  admirably 
adapted  by  this  qualification  to  lead  soldiers  through  peril  and  diffi- 
culty, provided  they  be  directed  by  minds  superior  to  their  own. 
Murat  was  such  a  man;  and  Buonaparte  appears  on  the  whole  to 
have  liked  such  officers,  for  they  did  not  trouble  him  with  thinking 


IN    THE   ORGANS.  529 

for  themselves,  while  they  possessed  energy  adequate  to  the  exe- 
cution of  his  most  gigantic  designs.  The  leader  of  a  popular  party 
who  has  risen  to  that  rank  by  election,  or  assumed  it  with  acquies- 
cence, will  be  found  to  have  a  large  brain.  The  leaders  of  an 
army  or  a  fleet  also  require  a  similar  endowment,  for  otherwise 
they  would  possess  authority  without  natural  weight,  and  would 
never  inspire  confidence  in  their  followers.  Buonaparte  had  a 
large  head;  and  officers  and  soldiers,  citizens  and  statesmen,  bowed 
before  his  mental  greatness,  however  much  they  might  detest  the 
use  he  made  of  his  power.  In  him,  all  the  organs,  animal,  moral, 
and  intellectual  (Conscientiousness  and,  perhaps.  Firmness,  except- 
ed), seem  to  have  been  large;  great  activity  was  added;  and  hence 
arose  commanding  energy,  combined  with  profound  and  compre- 
hensive intellectual  capacity. 

The  Society  possesses  casts  of  the  heads  of  Captains  Franklin 
and  Parry  ;  and  both  are  decidedly  large,  with  an  excellent 
proportion  in  the  different  orders  of  organs.  These  commanders 
displayed  great  force  of  character  in  their  respective  expeditions  in 
quest  of  a  North-west  Passage.  No  tendency  to  mutiny,  or  insub- 
ordination, occurred  even  in  the  most  trying  circumstances  ;  and 
this  would  be  the  case,  because  the  men  under  their  command 
would  instinctively  feel  natural  superiority  coinciding  with  artificial 
rank. 

The  figure  represents  the  cast  of  Captain 
Parry,  taken  by  Deville.  The  brain  is 
large,  the  portion  before  the  ear  greatly  ex- 
ceeds that  behind  it.  The  asterisks  indicate 
the  seat  of  Cautiousness  and  Causality ;  the 
region  above  them  belongs  to  the  moral  sen- 
timents ;  it  is  large ;  Firmness  is  conspic- 
uously developed  ;  but  the  hair  gives  part  of  the  elevation  at 
Firmness,  and  allowance  falls  to  be  made  for  its  thickness. 

The  men  who  are  able  to  attend  to  their  private  duties,  and  at 
the  same  time  carry  a  load  of  public  business  on, their  minds,  with- 
out feeling  encumbered,  owe  this  quality  to  great  size  in  the  brain, 
combined  with  large  Knowing  Organs.     Those  who,  having  small 
67 


630  EFFECTS  OF  SIZE 

brains,  find  their  whole  powers  absorbed  and  exhausted  by  their 
particular  occupations,  wonder  at  such  men,  and  cannot  compre- 
hend either  their  motives,  or  the  means  by  which  they  accomplish 
so  much.  It  is  power  which  distinguishes  them,  so  that  duties 
which  to  others  are  oppressive,  press  lightly  on  them,  or  afford 
them  only  amusement  or  relaxation.  Mr.  Joseph  Hume,  M.  P.  is 
a  beautiful  illustration  of  this  doctrine.  He  possesses  moderate 
organs  of  Causality,  little  Wit,  less  Ideality,  with  no  great  endow- 
ment of  Language;  and  yet  even  his  opponents  allow  him  to  man- 
ifest great  force  of  character,  with  a  power  of  application  and 
perseverance  which  to  ordinary  minds  is  incomprehensible.  If  we 
look  at  the  large  brain  indicated  in  his  cast,  and  attend  to  the 
combination  of  organs  which  it  displays,  we  shall  perceive  the 
source  of  his  weight.  Thurtell  also  showed  great  force  of  charac- 
ter, and  his  brain  was  large.  This  quality  in  Thurtell  was  the 
source  of  the  intense  and  long  enduring  interest  which  he  created 
and  supported  in  the  public  mind.  He  made  deep  impressions  on 
those  individuals  who  came  in  contact  with  him,  they  wrote  and 
printed  their  emotions,  and  the  public  caught  the  feeling. 

In  examining  the  heads  of  criminals  in  jail,  I  have  found  the 
most  daring,  desperate  and  energetic  to  possess  large  brains. 
When  great  size  and  an  unfavorable  combination  occur  together, 
the  officers  of  justice  are  reduced  to  despair  of  correcting  the 
offender.  They  feel  a  strength  of  character  which  they  cannot 
subdue,  and  an  evil  bent  which  they  cannot  direct ; — the  result 
generally  is  a  report  from  the  police  that  the  individual  is  incorrigi- 
ble ;  the  first  capital  offence  is  prosecuted  to  extremity,  and  he  is 
hanged  for  the  sake  of  protecting  society  from  farther  mischief. 
In  professional  pursuits,  also,  the  men  who  are  indisputably  para- 
mount to  their  fellows  not  merely  in  cleverness,  but  in  depth  and 
force  of  character,  have  large  heads;  and  this  holds  not  only  in  the 
learned  professions,  but  in  mercantile  avocations.  I  have  observ- 
ed, that  individuals  who,  born  in  indigence,  have  risen  to  wealth, 
by  conducting  great  and  extensive  establishpients,  have  uniformly 
brains  above  an  average  size;  and  mercantile  travellers  who  succeed 
in  procuring  orders,  and  pushing  a  trade  amidst  a  keen  and  arduous 


IN   THE  ORGANS.  531 

competition,  are  distinguished  by  the  same  quality.  Such  men 
make  an  impression,  and  act  with  a  confidence  of  power,  which 
gives  effect  to  all  they  say  or  do.  In  a  school,  if  the  children 
care  nothing  for  the  master,  treat  him  with  disrespect,  and  he  fail, 
after  using  every  severity,  to  maintain  discipline  and  subordination, 
he  will  be  found  to  have  a  small  head.  In  the  domestic  circle,  if 
the  mistress  of  a  family  (while  in  good  health),  is  easily  overcome, 
annoyed  and  oppressed  with  the  cares  and  duties  of  her  household, 
the  origin  of  the  evil  will  be  found  in  too  small  a  head. 

In  the  Church,  the  effects  of  size  are  equally  conspicuous.  A 
preacher  with  a  large  brain  is  felt  by  his  flock  to  possess  weight,  and 
they  submit  willingly  to  be  led  and  taught  by  him,  while  they  treat 
with  indifference  the  feebleness  that  accompanies  a  little  head.  If, 
as  occasionally  happens,  a  preacher  possess  an  excellent  combi- 
nation, that  is,  the  organs  of  the  sentiments  and  intellect  large  in 
proportion  to  those  of  the  animal  propensities,  he  will  be  acute, 
amiable,  sensible,  and  interesting  ;  but  if  the  general  size  of  his 
brain  be  under  an  average,  he  will  not  be  impressive  and  com- 
manding. 

The  principle  that  Size  gives  power  of  manifestation,  forms  the 
key  to  the  following  criticism  on  Dr.  Chalmers.  "  His  manner, 
so  far  from  being  graceful,"  says  a  contemporary  writer,  "  is  very 
nearly  uncouth ;  his  tones  are  neither  musical,  nor  under  strict 
subordination ;  in  the  selection  of  words,  and  management  of 
figures,  his  taste,  so  far  from  being  pure,  is  sometimes  very  much 
the  reverse  ;  his  pronunciation,  though  vigorous  and  distinct,  is 
beset  with  provincialisms,  which  time  and  a  city  audience  have 
done  very  little  to  correct ;  and  as  to  gesture,  wherever  we  have 
heard  him,  he  appeared  to  be  totally  unconscious  that  he  had  got 
such  a  thing  as  hands  and  arms  to  manage.  In  what,  then,  it  may 
be  asked,  consists  the  secret  of  the  Doctor's  eloquence  ?  Simply, 
as  we  take  it,  in  this, — that,  while  his  arguments  and  illustrations 
are  for  the  most  part  striking  and  original,  he  possesses  prodi- 
gious enthusiasm  and  energy  in  enforcing  them  ;  that  the  defects 
of  his  rhetoric  are  completely  lost  in  the  force  of  his  ratiocination ; 
that  while  he  has  mathematics  or  logic  enough  to  make  his  reason- 


532  EFFECTS   OF   SIZE 

ing  acute,  grasping,  and  irresistible,  he  has  poetry  enough  to 
prevent  it  from  being  dull ;  thus  evincing  the  very  highest  species 
of  intellect,  the  union  of  a  sound  and  comprehensive  judgment, 
with  a  fertile  and  brilliant  imagination.  We  have  said  he 
possesses  energy,  and  this  we  take  to  be  the  great  and  redeeming 
quality  of  his  manner,  compared  to  which  the  tiny  graces  sink  into 
insignificance.  Whether  we  are  facile  or  fastidious,  whether  we 
like  or  dislike  the  preacher's  doctrine,  one  thing  is  certain,  he 
forces  us  to  attend  to  him.  A  man  might  easily  get  his  pocket 
picked  while  listening  to  Dr.  Chalmers,  but  we  defy  him  to  fall 
asleep.''^     The  bust  of  Dr.  Chalmers  indicates  a  large  brain. 

In  authorship,  the  same  law  holds  good.  Critics  have  been 
puzzled  to  account  for  the  high  rank  which  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson 
holds  in  English  hterature,  and  to  discover  the  qualities  of  mind  on 
which  his  eminence  is  founded.  He  has  made  no  discoveries  in 
morals  or  in  science  to  captivate  the  mind.  His  style  is  stately 
and  sonorous,  and  his  arrangement  in  general  good  ;  but  equal  or 
superior  graces  may  be  found  in  Goldsmith,  Thomson,  and  other 
authors,  whom  nobody  would  compare  with  him  in  genius.  His 
great  characteristic  is  force  and  weight ;  and  these  are  the  con- 
comitants of  great  size  in  the  organs.  Milton's  writings  are  highly 
characteristic  of  power,  as  are  also  those  of  Locke.  Addison,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  a  specimen  of  genius  produced  by  a  felicitous 
combination  of  sentiment  and  intellect,  without  preponderating 
energy  from  great  size.  Power  is  the  leading  charm  of  Swift's 
writings  ;  he  is  not  graceful,  far  from  elegant,  his  reasoning  is  fre- 
quently superficial,  and  his  conclusions  questionable;  but  he  is  rarely 
feeble.     Strength,  energy,  and  determination  mark  every  page. 

To  produce  its  full  effects,  large  size  must  be  accompanied 
with  sound  health  and  an  active  temperament,  as  explained  on 
p.  93 ;  but  these,  while  necessary  to  give  it  effect,  will  never 
compensate  for  its  absence. 

ACTIVITY  in  the  organs,  on  the  other  hand,  gives  liveliness, 
quickness,  and  rapidity  ;  Dr.  Spurzheim  thinks  that  long  fibres 
contribute  to  activity.     The  sanguine  and  nervous  temperaments 


IN   THE   ORGANS.  533 

described  on  pages  29,  30,  and  94,  afford  external  indications 
of  constitutional  activity.  Moderate  size  of  brain,  with  favorable 
combination,  and  much  activity,  will  constitute  what  is  commonly 
understood  by  a  clever  man  in  ordinary  life  ;  such  an  individual 
will  form  ideas  rapidly,  do  a  great  deal  of  work,  show  tact  and 
discrimination,  and  prove  himself  really  a  valuable  and  useful 
member  of  society;  but  he  must  not  be  overloaded  with  difficulties, 
or  encumbered  with  obstacles,  nor  must  the  field  in  which  he  is 
called  on  to  labor  be  too  extensive. 

Great  errors  are  often  committed  in  society  through  ignorance 
of  this  fact.  An  individual  possessing  a  small  brain,  but  a  fine 
temperament,  and  favorable  combination,  perhaps  distinguishes 
himself  in  a  limited  and  subordinate  sphere,  or  he  makes  one  great 
and  successful  effort,  in  which  his  powers  are  tasked  to  the  utmost 
of  their  limits  ; — the  notion  is  then  adopted  that  he  is  capable  of 
higher  duties,  and  of  exhibiting  habitually  the  force  of  mind  thus 
displayed  on  a  single  occasion.  He  is,  in  consequence,  promoted 
to  a  more  arduous  station.  He  continues  to  execute  small  matters 
so  well,  that  it  is  difficult  to  point  out  individual  instances  of  failure, 
and  yet  a  general  impression  of  his  incapacity  arises,  want  of  suc- 
cess and  discontent  increase,  and  at  last,  after  great  suffering  to 
himself,  and  annoyance  to  his  employers,  he  is  dismissed.  The 
small  brain  is  the  origin  of  the  incapacity  ;  and  ignorance  of  its 
effects  the  cause  of  his  being  misplaced. 

Mankind,  in  extreme  cases,  recognise  power  or  feebleness  of 
mental  character,  and  modify  their  conduct  accordingly.  Those 
in  whom  moral  and  religious  principles  do  not  constitute  the 
habitual  rule  of  conduct,  treat  individuals  in  the  most  different  man- 
ner, according  to  the  impression  which  they  receive  from  their 
manner,  and  the  estimate  they  form  from  it  of  their  strength  or 
weakness  of  mind.  There  are  men  who  carry  in  their  very  look 
the  intimation  of  greatness,  whose  manner  at  once  proclaims, 
"  J^emo  me  impune  lacesset ; "  the  world  reads  this  notice,  and 
holds  it  safest  to  allow  them  to  follow  their  own  course  without 
obstruction,  while  they  avoid  giving  offence.  Contrasted  with 
them,  are  the  feeble  and  vacillating  ;  men  as  unstable  as  water, 


534  EFFECTS   OF  SIZE. 

unsteady  as  the  wind.  The  wicked  seize  upon  them,  and  make 
them  their  prey.  The  treatment  received  by  different  persons 
from  society,  is  thus  widely  different  ;  and  it  may  truly  be  said, 
that  a  large  portion  of  mankind  cannot  easily  conceive  the  miseries 
inflicted  on  the  weak  by  the  powerful  and  unprincipled  taking  ad- 
vantage of  their  deficiencies. 

When  a  favorable  combination,  a  fine  temperament,  and  large 
size,  are  conjoined  in  an  individual,  they  constitute  the  perfection 
of  genius.  This  I  conceive  to  have  been  the  case  in  Homer  and 
in  Shakspeare.  Vivacious  buoyancy,  ease,  and  fertility,  arising 
from  the  first  and  second  causes,  joined  with  depth,  strength,  com- 
prehensiveness, and  masculine  energy,  the  result  of  the  third,  place 
these  authors  above  all  others  whom  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
And  when  we  consider  that  these  rare  and  splendid  gifts  must 
again  be  united  in  one  individual,  before  their  equal  cap  reappear, 
we  shall  have  no  difficulty  in  perceiving  why  so  few  Homers  and 
Shakspeares  are  given  by  nature  to  the  world. 

In  these  observations,  I  have  treated  of  the  effects  of  Size  in  the 
brain  in  general,  on  the  general  manifestations  of  the  mind,  to  bring 
the  doctrine  clearly  and  forcibly  before  the  reader ;  but  I  beg  of 
him  not  to  fall  into  the  mistake  of  taking  general  size  as  an  indica- 
tion of  particular  power,  for  then  difficulties  without  end  will  be 
encountered.  For  example,  it  has  often  been  objected,  that  a 
particular  individual  wears  a  large  hat,  indicating  a  large  brain,  and 
yet  that  he  has  no  scope  of  intellect.,  and  no  ability,  in  the  general 
sense  of  the  term.  The  answer  is,  that  we  must  look  for  the 
power  in  the  direction  of  the  Size.,  as  explained  on  p.  90.  If  the 
large  hat  is  requisite,  on  account  of  a  great  developeraent  of  the 
animal  organs,  we  must  expect  the  individual  to  be  only  a  powerful 
animal.,  and  he  may  be  this,  and  at  the  same  time  a  weak  man. 
If  the  size  predominate  in  the  region  of  the  sentiments,  we  may 
then  look  for  greatness  in  moral  worth  ;  but  it  is  only  when  great 
size,  combined  with  an  active  temperament,  pervades  the  whole 
three  classes  of  organs.  Propensities,  Sentiments,  and  Intellect, 
that  Phrenology  authorises  us  to  expect  a  general  character,  vigor- 
ous, comprehensive  and  profound. 


COMBINATIONS  IN  SIZE  535 

The  circumstances  which  modify  the  effects  of  size  have  already 
been  stated  (pp.  29,  30.  93,)  when  treating  of  the  principles  of 
the  science,  to  which  the  reader  is  respectfully  referred. 


COMBINATIONS    IN    SIZE,    OR    EFFECTS    OF    THE    ORGANS    WHEN 
COMBINED    IN    DIFFERENT    RELATIVE    PROPORTIONS. 

The  primitive  functions  of  each  organ  were  discovered,  by 
observing  cases  in  which  it  decidedly  predominated  over,  or  fell 
short  of,  other  organs,  in  point  of  size;  and  by  similar  observations 
each  must  still  be  verified.  After  the  discovery  is  established, 
its  practical  application  deserves  attention.  Every  individual  pos- 
sesses all  the  organs,  but  they  are  combined  in  different  degrees 
of  relative  size  in  different  persons  ;  and  the  manifestations  of  each 
are  modified  in  some  degree  by  the  influence  of  those  with  which 
it  is  combined.  The  effect  of  combination,  however,  is  not  to 
change  the  proper  functions  of  the  different  organs,  but  only  to 
modify  the  manner  in  which  they  are  manifested ;  or  the  acts  in 
which  they  seek  gratification. 

Three  rules  may  be  laid  down  for  estimating  the  effects  of 
differences  in  relative  size,  occurring  in  the  organs  of  the  same 
brain. 

Rule  first. — Every  faculty  desires  gratification  with  a  degree 
of  energy  proportionate  to  the  size  of  its  organ  ;  *  and  those 
faculties  will  be  habitually  indulged,  the  organs  of  which  are  largest 
in  the  individual,  f 

*The  condition,  cceteris  ■paribus,  is  always  understood,  and  therefore  need  not 
be  repeated,  in  treating  of  the  effects  of  Size. 

t  Having  been  solicited  to  state,  in  methodical  order,  the  effects  of  the  combin- 
ations so  far  as  observed,  I  tried  to  do  this  in  the  MS.  of  the  present  work;  but 
found  the  result  to  be  a  tedious  enumeration  of  propositions,  adapted  to  Individu- 
ality alone,  difBcult  to  be  remembered,  and  withal  extremely  incomplete.  I  have 
therefore  preferred  stating  principles  chiefly,  accompanied  with  illustrations,  to 
render  them  intelligible,  and  show  their  application.  This  method  was  adopted 
in  the  Elements  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  and,  on  mature  examination  it  appears 


536 


COMBINATIONS    IN    SIZE. 


Examples. — If  the  animal  organs  in  general  are  large,  and  the 
organs  of  the  moral  sentiments  and  intellect  in  general  small,  the 
individual  will  be  naturally  prone  to  animal  indulgence  in  the  highest 
degree,  and  disposed  to  seek  gratification  in  the  directest  way,  and 
in  the  lowest  pursuits. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  organs  of  the  moral  sentiments  and 
intellect  greatly  predominate,  the  individual  will  be  naturally  prone 
to  moral  and  intellectual  pursuits;  such  persons  are  "a  law  unto 
themselves." 

In  illustration  of  this  rule,  the  skull  of  a  Charib,  and  the  head 
of  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  who  was  a  monster  of  wickedness  in 
human  form,  may  be  contrasted  with  the  skull  of  Raphael,  and  the 
head  of  Melancthon  the  Reformer. 


Charib 


Pope  Alexander  VI. 


Raphael. 


In  ferther  illustration,  the  heads  of  Burke  and  Hare  the  murder- 
ers, represented  on  page  80,  may  be  contrasted  with  those  of  the 
Reverend  Mr.  M.,  given  on  page  81,  and  Captain  Parry,  on  p. 
529.     In  the  Charib,  Alexander  VI.,  Burke,  and  Hare,  the  basilar 

to  be  preferable  in  itself.  The  reader  in  whom  the  Reflecting  Organs  and  Con- 
centrativeness  are  amply  developed,  will  not  only  easily  comprehend  the  rules 
here  laid  down,  but  be  able  greatly  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  their  application. 


COMBINATIONS   IN   SIZE.  537 

and  posterior  regions  of  the  brain,  dedicated  to  the  animal  propen- 
sities, greatly  preponderate  over  the  anterior  and  coronal  regions, 
which  manifest  the  intellect  and  moral  sentiments  ;  *  in  Raphael, 
the  basilar  region  is  large,  but  the  intellectual  and  moral  decidedly 
preponderate  ;  in  Melancthon,  who  was  distinguished  for  benignity 
and  wisdom  in  a  rude  and  excited  age,  the  anterior  and  coronal 
regions  very  greatly  predominate;  in  the  Reverend  Mr.  M.  the 
same  favorable  combination  occurs,  and  he  was  remarkable  for  a 
similar  character  ;  and  in  Captain  Parry,  the  base  is  large,  but  with 
great  predominance  of  the  anterior  and  coronal  regions.  Now, 
under  the  rule  before  stated,  the  first  class  will  be  naturally  prone 
to  low  and  degrading, pursuits,  having  for  their  object  the  gratifica- 
tion of  Amativeness,  Destructiveness,  Acquisitiveness,  and  other 
inferior  feelings  ;  they  will  possess  very  few  aspirations  after  the 
noble  and  beneficient  virtues  which  dignify  human  nature ;  be  blind 
to  the  obligations  of  justice,  piety,  and  mercy  ;  and  totally  incapa- 
ble of  appreciating  the  advantages  of  science.  The  second  class 
will  form  a  direct  contrast  to  them.  They  will  naturally  feel  the 
superiority  of  moral  and  intellectual  pursuits,  ardently  desire  to 
advance  in  the  career  of  improvement,  and  instinctively  love  every 
virtue  and  attainment  that  is  calculated  to  increase  the  true  dignity 
and  happiness  of  Man.  It  is  common  for  individuals  to  assume 
themselves  as  standards  for  judging  of  mankind  in  general ;  yet  no 
criterion  can  be  more  fallacious ;  the  consciousness  of  men  belong- 
ing to  the  inferior  class  would  represent  the  race  as  base,  grovelling 
and  selfish,  that  of  the  higher  as  elevated,  benignant,  and  intel- 
lectual. 

Rule  second. — As  there  are  three  kinds  of  faculties.  Animal, 
Moral  and  Intellectual,  which  are  not  homogeneous,  it  may  happen 
that  several  large  animal  organs  are  combined  in  the  same  individ- 
ual, with  several  moral  and  intellectual  organs  highly  developed. 

*The  size  of  the  coronal  region  is  best  judged  of  by  the  height  and  breadth  of 

the  brain  above  Cautiousness  and  CausaUty,  the  situation  of  which  organs  is  in-  , 

dicated  in  some  of  the  figures  by  asterisks.     Wherever  that  region  is  shallow  or 

narrow  the  moral  feelings  will  be  comparatively  feeble. 

68 


538  COMBINATIONS  IN   SIZE. 

The  rule,  then,  will  be,  that  the  lower  propensities  will  take  their 
direction  from  the  higher  powers  ;  and  such  a  course  of  action  will 
be  habitually  followed  as  will  be  calculated  to  gratify  the  whole 
faculties  whose  organs  are  large. 

Examples, — If  the  organs  of  Acquisitiveness  and  Conscientious- 
ness were  both  large,  stealing  might  gratify  Acquisitiveness,  but 
it  would  offend  Conscientiousness.  According  to  the  rule,  the 
individual  would  endeavor  to  gratify  both,  by  acquiring  property 
by  lawful  industry.  If  Combativeness  and  Destructiveness  were 
large,  and  Benevolence  and  Conscientiousness  also  amply  devel- 
oped, wanton  outrage  and  indiscriminate  attack  might  gratify  the 
first  two  faculties,  but  they  would  outrage  the  last  two  ;  hence  the 
individual  would  seek  for  situations  calculated  to  gratify  all  four, 
and  these  may  be  found  in  the  ranks  of  an  army  embodied  for  the 
defence  of  his  country ;  or  in  moral  and  intellectual  warfare  against 
the  patrons  of  corruption  and  abuse  in  Church  and  State.  Luther, 
Knox,  and  many  other  benefactors  of  mankind,  were  probably 
actuated  by  such  a  combination  of  faculties ;  Washington  nobly  dis- 
played it. 

If,  in  an  individual,  the  cerebellum  is  very  large,  and  Philopro- 
genitiveness.  Adhesiveness,  and  Conscientiousness  deficient,  he 
will  be  prone  to  seek  the  directest  gratifications  of  the  animal 
appetite  ;  if  the  latter  organs  are  large,  he  will  perceive  that 
wedlock  affords  the  best  means  of  satisfying  the  whole  group  of 
faculties. 

If  Benevolence,  Self-Esteem,  and  Acquisitiveness  are  all  large, 
giving  charity  may  gratify  the  first ;  but  unless  the  individual  be 
very  rich,  the  act  of  parting  with  property  may  be  disagreeable  to 
the  last  two  faculties  :  he  will  therefore  prefer  to  gratify  Benevo- 
lence by  personal  kindness  ;  he  will  sacrifice  time,  trouble,  influ- 
ence and  advice,  to  the  welfare  of  others,  but  not  property.  If 
Benevolence  were  small,  with  the  same  combination,  he  would  not 
give  either  money  or  personal  advice. 

If  Love  of  Approbation  large,  is  combined  with  large  Ideality 
and  moderate  Reflecting  Faculties,  the  individual  will  be  ambitious 
to  excel  in  the  splendor  of  his  equipage,  style  of  living,  dress, 


COMBINATIONS   IN   SIZE.  539 

and  rank.  If,  to  the  same  combination,  be  added  a  powerful 
intellect  and  large  Conscientiousness,  moral  and  intellectual  excel- 
lence will  be  preferred,  as  the  means  of  obtaining  the  respect  of 
the  world. 

An  individual  in  whom  Benevolence  and  Love  of  Approbation 
are  very  large,  and  Conscientiousness  deficient,  will  be  exceedingly- 
kind  and  attentive  to  those  persons  who  praise  him  loudly  and 
extol  his  benevolence ;  but  he  will  overlook  humble,  retiring,  and 
unostentatious  merit ;  he  will  speak  much  of  his  own  good  deeds. 
If  Conscientiousness  and  Benevolence  had  predominated,  these 
last  would  be  the  first  objects  of  his  regard,  and  the  good  done 
would  never  be  proclaimed  by  himself. 

If  Self-Esteem  large,  is  combined  with  deficient  Love  of 
Approbation  and  Conscientiousness,  the  individual  will  be  prone 
to  gratify  his  selfish  feelings,  with  little  regard  to  the  good  opinion, 
or  the  just  claims  of  society.  If  Self-Esteem  large,  is  combined 
with  large  Love  of  Approbation  and  Conscientiousness,  the  former 
will  produce  only  that  degree  of  self-respect  which  is  essential  to 
dignity  of  character,  and  that  degree  of  independence  of  sentiment, 
without  which  even  virtue  cannot  be  maintained. 

If  Cautiousness  large  is  combined  with  deficient  Combative- 
ness,  the  individual  will  be  extremely  timid.  If  Combativeness 
be  large,  and  Cautiousness  small,  reckless  intrepidity  will  be  the 
result.  If  Combativeness  be  equally  large  with  Cautiousness,  the 
individual  will  display  courage  regulated  by  prudence.  If  Cautious- 
ness, Conscientiousness,  Self-Esteem,  Secretiveness,  and  Love 
of  Approbation,  are  all  large,  and  Combativeness  moderate,  bash- 
fulness  or  mauvaise  honte  will  be  the  consequence.  This  feeling 
is  the  result  of  the  fear  of  not  acquitting  one's-self  to  advantage, 
and  thereby  compromising  one's  personal  dignity. 

If  Veneration  and  Hope  are  large,  and  Conscientiousness  and 
Benevolence  small,  the  individual  will  be  naturally  fond  of  the  act 
of  religious  worship,  but  averse  to  the  practice  of  charity  and  jus- 
tice. If  the  proportions  are  reversed,  the  result  will  be  a  constitu- 
tional disposition  to  charity  and  justice,  with  no  great  tendency  to 
the  exercise  of  devotion.     If  all  the  four  organs  are  large,  the  indi- 


540  COMBINATIONS    IN    SIZE. 

viduai  will  be  naturally  inclined  to  engage  in  the  worship  of  God. 
and  to  discharge  his  duties  to  men.  If  Veneration  large  is  com- 
bined with  large  Acquisitiveness  and  Love  of  Approbation,  the  for- 
mer sentiment  may  be  directed  to  superiors  in  rank  and  power,  as 
the  means  of  gratifying  the  desires  for  wealth  and  influence  depen- 
ding on  the  latter  faculties.  If  Veneration  small  be  combined  with 
Self-Esteem  and  Firmness  large,  the  individual  will  not  naturally 
look  up  to  superiors  in  rank. 

The  intellectual  faculties  will  naturally  tend  to  such  employments 
as  are  calculated  to  gratify  the  predominant  propensities  and  senti- 
ments. If  the  organs  which  constitute  a  genius  for  painting  are 
combined  with  large  Acquisitiveness,  the  individual  would  paint  to 
become  rich ;  if  combined  with  Acquisitiveness  small,  and  Love 
of  Approbation  large,  he  would  probably  labor  for  fame,  and  starve 
while  attaining  it. 

Talents  for  different  intellectual  pursuits  depend  upon  the  com- 
binations of  the  Knowing  and  Reflecting  Organs  in  certain  pro- 
portions. Form,  Size,  Coloring,  Individuality,  Ideality,  Imitation, 
and  Secretiveness  large,  with  Locality  small,  will  constitute  a 
portrait,  but  not  a  landscape,  painter.  Diminish  Form  and  Imita- 
tion, and  increase  Locality,  and  the  result  will  be  a  talent  for  land- 
scape, but  not  for  portrait,  painting.  Constructiveness  and  Weight 
combined  with  Tune  large,  may  produce  a  talent  for  musical 
instrument  making:  Without  a  large  Tune  the  other  faculties  could 
not  take  this  direction.  Constructiveness  combined  with  Size 
and  Number  large,  may  lead  to  mathematical  instrument  making. 
Causality,  combined  with  large  Secretiveness,  Ideality  and  Imita- 
tion, will  seek  to  discover  the  philosophy  of  the  fine  arts;  the  same 
organ  combined  -with  Benevolence,  Conscientiousness,  and  Con- 
centrativeness,  large,  will  delight  in  moral  and  political  investiga- 
tions. If  to  Individuality,  Eventuality,  Comparison,  and  Causality, 
all  large,  an  equally  well  developed  organ  of  Language  be  added, 
the  result  will  be  a  talent  for  authorship  or  public  debate;  if  Lan- 
guage be  small,  the  other  faculties  will  be  more  prone  to  seek 
gratification  in  the  business  of  life,  or  in  abstract  philosophy. 

One  great  difficulty  frequently  experienced,  is  to  comprehend 


COMBINATIONS   IN   SIZE.  541 

the  effect  of  the  Reflecting  Powers,  added,  in  a  high  degree  of 
endowment,  to  the  Knowing  Faculties,  when  the  latter  are  exer- 
cised in  particular  branches  of  art,  for  which  they  appear  to  be 
of  themselves  altogether  sufficient.  It  is  stated,  for  example,  that 
Constructiveness,  Secretiveness,  Form,  Size,  Ideality,  Individu- 
ality, Coloring  and  Imitation,  constitute  a  genius  for  painting  ;  and 
it  may  reasonably  be  inquired.  What  effect  will  the  Reflecting 
Organs,  large  or  small,  produce  on  this  combination.''  This  ques- 
tion is  easily  answered.  When  the  Reflecting  Organs  are  small, 
Form^  Color,  Beauty,  constitute  the  leading  objects  of  the  paint- 
er's productions.  There  is  no  story,  no  event,  no  comprehensive- 
ness of  intellect  displayed  in  his  works.  They  require  to  be 
examined  in  detail,  and  as  single  objects,  unconnected  with  others 
by  any  of  the  relations  perceived  by  the  higher  powers.  Add  the 
Reflecting  Organs,  however,  and  then  Outline,  Form,  Coloring, 
Perspective,  will  all  sink  into  the  rank  of  means,  which  the  intellect 
employs  to  accomplish  a  higher  object ;  such  as  the  expression  of 
some  great  action  or  event,  some  story,  which  speaks  to  the  judg- 
ment, and  interests  the  feelings. 

These  ideas  are  beautifully  illustrated  in  an  Essay  on  the  genius 
of  Raphael,  compared  with  his  cerebral  developement,  by  Mr. 
Scott.*  Ih  the  cast  of  Raphael's  skull,  the  organs  here  enumer- 
ated as  essential  to  a  painter,  are  all  large,  and  those  of  Causality, 
Comparison  and  Wit,  are  likewise  far  above  an  ordinary  size. 
Now,  a  critic  on  the  productions  of  Raphael  f  says,  "  In  composi- 
tion Raffaello  stands  pre-eminent.  His  invention  is  the  refined 
emanation  of  a  dramatic  mind,  and  whatever  can  most  interest  the 
feelings,  or  satisfy  the  judgment,  he  selected  from  nature,  and  made 
his  own.  The  point  of  time,  in  his  historical  subjects,  is  inva- 
riably well  chosen  ;  and  subordinate  incidents,  while  they  create 
a  secondary  interest,  essentially  contribute  to  the  principal  event. 
Contrast  or  combination  of  lines  makes  no  part  of  his  works  as  an 
artificial  principle  of  composition;  the  nature  and  character  of  the 
event  create  the  forms  best   calculated  to  express  them.      The 

*  Phrenological  Journal,  vol.  ii.  p.  327. 

t  Life  of  Raphael,  London,  1816,  anonymous. 


542  COMBINATIONS   IN   SIZE. 

individual  expression  of  particular  figures  corresponds  with  their 
character  and  employ naent ;  and  whether  calm  or  agitated,  they  are 
at  all  times  equally  remote  from  affectation  or  insipidity.  The  o-ene- 
ral  interest  of  his  subject  is  kept  up  throughout  the  whole  compo- 
sition ;  the  present  action  implies  the  past,  and  anticipates  the 
future.  If,  in  sublimity  of  thought,  Raffaello  has  been  surpassed 
by  his  great  contemporary  Michael  Angelo, — if,  in  purity  of  outline 
and  form,  by  the  antique, — and  in  coloring  and  chiaro-oscuro  by 
the  Lombard  and  Venetian  schools ;  yet  in  historical  compositions 
he  has  no  rival ;  and  for  invention,  expression,  and  the  power  of 
telling  a  story,  he  has  never  been  approached." 

M.  Fuseli,  speaking  of  the  quahties  of  Raphael's  style  as  a 
painter,  says,  that  "perfect  human  beauty  he  has  not  represented. 
No  face  of  Raphael's  is  perfectly  beautiful ;  no  figure  of  his,  in  the 
abstract,  possesses  the  proportions  that  could  raise  it  to  a  standard 
of  imitation.  Form  to  him  was  only  a  vehicle  of  character  or 
pathos;  and  to  these  he  adapted  it  in  a  mode,  and  with  a  truth, 
which  leaves  all  attempts  at  emendation  hopeless.  His  composi- 
tion always  hastens  to  the  most  necessary  point  as  its  centre ;  and 
from  that  disseminates,  to  that  leads  back,  its  rays,  all  secondary 
ones.  Group,  form,  and  contrast,  are  subordinate  to  the  event; 
and  common-place  is  ever  excluded.  His  expression  is  unmixed 
and  pure,  in  strict  unison  with,  and  decided  by,  character,  whether 
calm,  animated,  agitated,  convulsed,  or  absorbed,  by  the  inspiring 
passion:  it  never  contradicts  its  cause,  and  is  equally  remote  from 
tameness  and  grimace.  The  moment  of  his  choice  never  suffers 
the  action  to  stagnate  or  to  expire.  It  is  the  moment  of  transi- 
tion, the  crisis  big  with  the  past,  and  pregnant  with  the  future. 
His  invention  connects  the  utmost  stretch  of  possibility  with  the 
most  plausible  degree  of  probability,  in  a  manner  that  equally 
surprises  our  fancy,  persuades  our  judgment,  and  affects  our 
hearts." 

In  all  this  criticism  we  have  the  most  exact  description  of  the 
manifestations  of  Comparison  and  Causality,  which  give  scope, 
depth,  and  force  of  intellectual  conception,  the  power  of  combin- 
ing means  to  attain  an  end,  and  the  natural  tendency  to  keep  the 


i 


COMBINATIONS    IN   SIZE.  543 

means  in  their  appropriate  place,  as  accessaries  merely  to  the 
main  design. 

Raphael's  genius,  accordingly,  can  be  fully  appreciated  only  after 
having  exercised  the  higher  intellectual  faculties  on  his  works. 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  acknowledges  that  it  was  only  after  repeat- 
ed visits,  and  deep  reflection,  that  he  discovered  their  merits,  his 
first  impression  having  been  that  of  mortification  and  disappoint- 
ment, from  not  seeing  at  once  all  their  greatness.  The  excellence 
of  Raphael's  style,  says  he,  is  not  on  the  surface,  ^^  but  lies  deep, 
and  at  the  first  view  is  seen  but  mistily.  It  is  the  florid  style  which 
strikes  at  onqe,  and  captivates  the  eye  for  a  time,  without  ever 
satisfying  the  judgment."  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Knowing 
and  Constructive  Organs  alone  had  predominated  in  Raphael,  all 
these  accessaries  would  have  become  principles;  and  the  critic 
who  possessed  intellect,  would  have  felt  a  decided  deficiency  of 
design,  story,  interest,  and  object  in  his  paintings.  Hence  high 
Reflecting  Organs  are  indispensable  to  historical  painting ;  and 
Haydon,  who  has  manifested  great  power  of  conception  in  this 
line,  possesses  these  in  an  eminent  degree.  The  late  Sir  H.  Rae- 
burn,  whose  style  of  portrait  painting  approaches,  in  point  of 
dignity  and  force,  the  historical,  possessed  also  a  full  develope- 
ment  of  the  upper  part  of  the  forehead,  as  well  as  the  pictorial 
organs.  In  sculpture  the  same  rule  holds.  The  artist  who  has 
Form,  Size,  Constructiveness,  and  Ideality  large,  without  high 
Reflecting  Organs,  may  chisel  a  vase,  or  cut  out  a  wreath  of 
flowers;  but  he  will  never  reach  grandeur  of  conception,  or  confer 
thought,  dignity,  and  power,  upon  his  productions. 

It  follows  from  these  principles,  that  a  sculptor  or  painter  will 
represent  one  class  of  objects  with  greater  truth  and  fidelity  than 
another,  according  to  the  particular  combination  of  organs  which 
predominates  in  his  head.  Thus,  to  model  the  exquisite  softness, 
delicacy,  and  symmetry  of  the  female  form,  the  constructive  organs, 
Ideality,  and  the  moral  sentiments,  may  suffice,  without  much 
depth  and  power  of  reflection.  To  represent,  on  the  other  hand, 
whether  on  canvass  or  in  marble,  the  man  of  genius,  profound  in 
thought,  and  elevated  and  intense  in  emotion,  the  artist  himself 


544  COMBINATIONS   IN    SIZE. 

must  possess  great  organs  of  sentiment  and  reflection,  in  addition  to 
the  organs  of  art  before  described,  otherwise  he  will  never  be  able 
I  adequately  to  conceive  or  to  express  these  modes  of  mind,  when 
they,  occur  in  his  subjects.  This  fortunate  combination  occurs  in 
conjunction  with  a  fine  temperament  in  Lawrence  Macdonald,  and 
hence  the  admirable  qualities  for  which  his  sculpture  is  already  so 
highly  distinguished. 

The  same  rules  hold  in  architecture  and  music.  The  architect 
possessing  only  the  Knowing  Organs  large,  may  produce  the  plan 
of  a  house,  or  a  particular  object,  with  success;  but  he  ought  never 
to  attempt  a  work  in  which  design,  combination,  and  thought,  are 
the  leading  objects.  From  not  attending  to  this  law  of  nature, 
many  abortions  in  architectural  designs  occur  in  this  country.  An 
artist,  with  a  constructive  and  knowing  head,  may  produce  a  plan 
which  will  look  beautiful  on  paper,  and  which,  in  fact,  is  beautiful 
as  an  individual  object;  but  if  the  Reflecting  Organs  are  deficient, 
he  will  be  incapable  of  considering  it  in  its  relations  to  surrounding 
objects,  and  of  divining  how  it  will  afiect  the  mind,  when  presented 
in  all  its  relations;  hence,  when  executed,  it  may  turn  out  a  deform- 
ity. Add,  however,  the  Reflecting  Organs,  and  the  effects  of 
collateral  objects  will  be  anticipated  and  provided  for.  An  archi- 
tect, in  whom  the  Reflecting  Organs  are  large,  and  the  Knowing 
Organs  deficient,  will  fail  in  practical  effect,  to  which  a  command 
of  details  is  indispensable. 

The  musician,  in  like  manner,  who  shall  be  able  to  express 
thought,  feeling,  and  emotion,  with  exquisite  effect,  with  whom 
sound  is  subordinate  to  sense,  design  and  expression,  must  always 
possess  the  higher  powers  in  addition  to  the  merely  musical 
faculties. 

In  oratory,  too,  a.  person  with  Individuality,  Eventuality,  Com- 
parison, Ideality,  and  Language,  may  be  erudite^  fluent,  brilliant, 
and,  if  propensity  and  sentiment  be  added,  he  may  be  vehement, 
pathetic,  or  sublime;  but,  to  give  great  comprehensiveness,  deep 
sagacity,  and  profound  elucidation  of  principle.  Causality  must  be 
added  to  the  combination. 

Taste  in  every  branch  of  the  fine  arts  is  distinguishable  from 


COMBINATIONS    IN   SIZE.  545 

power  and  comprehensiveness,  and  it  depends,  as  already  explain- 
ed,* on  a  harmonious  combination^  and  due  cultivation,  of  the 
organs  in  general.  In  Raphael  these  requisites  occurred;  and  it  is 
because  Nature  rarely  unites  the  particular  organs  which  constitute 
a  painter, — high  reflecting  organs,  large  general  size,  harmonious 
proportion,  and  natural  activity, — all  in  one  individual,  that  so  few 
Raphaels  appear. 

In  no  instance  is  it  a  matter  of  indifference  to  the  talents  and 
dispositions  of  the  individual,  whether  any  particular  organ  be  large 
or  small.  If  it  be  large,  although  its  abuses  may  be  prevented  by 
restraint  imposed  by  the  other  faculties;  still  its  presence  will  ope- 
rate on  the  mind.  If,  for  instance,  large  Combativeness  and  Des- 
tructiveness  be  combined  with  a  large  developement  of  the  moral 
and  intellectual  organs,  the  whole  life  may  be  passed  without  the 
occurrence  of  any  outrage;  and  it  may  be  asked.  What  effect,  in 
this  case,  do  the  former  organs  produce?  We  shall  find  the  answer, 
by  supposing  all  the  other  organs  to  remain  large,  while  those  are 
diminished  in  size,  and  tracing  the  effect  of  the  change.  The 
result  would  be  an  undue  preponderance  of  moral  and  intellectual 
qualities,  degenerating  into  effeminacy.  Large  Combativeness  and 
Destructiveness,  add  the  elements  of  repulsion  and  aggression  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  permit  the  manifestation  of  manly  enterprise 
and  courage.  Hence,  in  the  case  supposed,  these  organs  would 
be  duly  performing  their  functions,  when  the  superficial  observer 
would  imagine  them  to  be  entirely  superfluous. 

In  like  manner,  if  an  organ  be  greatly  deficient,  its  small  size 
cannot  be  compensated  for  by  that  of  the  other  organs,  however 
large.  Suppose,  for  example,  that,  in  an  individual,  Benevolence, 
Veneration,  Love  of  Approbation,  and  Intellect,  are  all  large,  and 
Conscientiousness  very  deficient,  it  may  be  thought  that  the  ab- 
sence of  Conscientiousness  will  be  of  small  importance,  as  its  influ- 
ence will  be  compensated  by  that  of  these  other  faculties.  This, 
however,  will  not  be  the  case.  The  sentiment  of  duty  originates 
from  Conscientiousness.  Hence  the  individual  supposed  would 
*  Page  427. 

69 


546  COMBINATIONS  IN   SIZE. 

be  benevolent,  when  Benevolence  predominated  ;  religious,  when 
Veneration  was  paramountly  active  ;  obliging,  when  Love  of  Ap- 
probation glowed  with  unwonted  fervor;  but  if  all  or  any  of  these 
were  on  any  occasion  counteracted  by  the  solicitations  of  the  infe- 
rior propensities,  he  would  not,  if  the  organ  of  Conscientiousness 
were  small,  feel  the  obligation  of  duty  enforcing  the  dictates  of 
these  other  sentiments,  and  increasing  their  restraining  power  ; 
in  short,  he  would  be  deficient  in  the  sentiments  of  justice,  duty, 
and  incumbency;  he  would  obey  all  the  impulses  of  the  higher 
faculties  token  inclined,  but  if  not  inclined,  he  would  not  experi- 
ence so  strong  a  sense  of  demerit  in  neglecting  their  solicitations, 
as  if  the  organ  of  Conscientiousness  were  large.  Farther,  the 
sentiments  which  we  have  supposed  him  to  possess,  would  them- 
,  selves,  if  not  directed  by  Conscientiousness,  be  continually  prone  to 
run  into  abuse.  Benevolence  to  one  would  tend  to  trench  on  the 
justice  due  to  another;  devotion  might  occasionally  be  substituted 
for  charity,  or  vice  versa. 

If  we  take  the  opposite  case,  and  suppose  that  an  individual 
possesses  great  Intellect  and  Conscientiousness,  with  deficient 
Benevolence,  Veneration,  and  Love  of  Approbation ;  then,  if  the 
propensities  were  strong,  his  conduct  might  be  the  reverse  of 
amiable,  notwithstanding  his  large  Conscientiousness.  With  this 
combination  he  would  be  actuated  by  vigorous  selfish  feelings, 
which  probably  might  overpower  the  single  sentiment  of  duty, 
unaided  by  Benevolence,  Veneration,  and  Love  of  Approbation  ; 
and  he  might  act  wrong  in  opposition  to  the  clear  dictates  of 
his  own  Conscientiousness  Video  meliora  proboque,  deteriora 
sequor,  would  be  his  motto.  If  his  propensities,  on  the  other 
hand,  were  moderate,  he  would  be  strictly  just ;  he  would  give 
every  one  his  due,  but  he  would  probably  not  be  actively  benev- 
olent and  pious.  The  faculty  of  Benevolence  inspires  with  the 
feeling  of  charity,  and  Conscientiousness  enforces  its  dictates ;  but 
if  (to  suppose  an  extreme  case)  the  feeling  of  charity  were  not 
inspired  at  all,  Conscientiousness  could  not  produce  it,  nor  act 
upon  it ;  it  would  strongly  impress  the  command.  Do  not  injure 
another,  because  this  duty  emanates  from  itself;  but  it  would  not 


COMBINATIONS   IN   SIZE.  547 

inspire  with   the    desire    to  do  him  good,  this  being  beyond  its 
limits. 

Occasionally,  very  unusual  combinations  of  particular  organs 
j)resent  themselves,  the  effects  of  which  cannot,  by  ordinary  sagac- 
ity, be  divined  ;  and  in  such  cases  the  phrenologist  ought  not  to 
predicate  any  thing,  but  ask  for  information.  As,  however,  nature 
is  constant,  he  may  speak  with  confidence  the  next  time  he  meets 
with  a  similar  case.  Before  it  was  ascertained  that  Secretiveness 
and  Imitation  confer  the  talent  for  acting,  I  met  with  an  instance 
of  this  combination,  and  predicated  something  from  it,  which  was 
entirely  erroneous.  This  occurrence  was  loudly  and  extensively 
pi'oclaimed  as  subversive  of  Phrenology;  but  to  me  it  was  a  valua- 
ble lesson,  and  a  discovery  of  some  importance  ;  ever  afterwards  I 
found  that  talent  accompany  that  combination. 

Rule  third.  —  Where  all  the  organs  appear  in  nearly  equal 
proportions  to  each  other,  the  individual,  if  left  to  himself,  will 
exhibit  opposite  phases  of  character,  according  as  the  animal  pro- 
pensities or  moral  sentiments  predominate  for  the  time.  He  will 
pass  his  life  in  alternate  sinning  and  repenting.  If  external  influ- 
ence is  brought  to  operate  upon  him,  his  conduct  will  be  greatly 
modified  by  it ;  if  placed,  for  instance,  under  severe  discipline,  and 
moral  restraint,  these  will  cast  the  balance,  for  the  time,  in  favor 
of  the  higher  sentiments  ;  if  exposed  to  the  solicitation  of  profligate 
associates,  the  animal  propensities  will  obtain  triumphant  sway. 
Maxwell,  who  was  executed  for  housebreaking  and  theft,  is  an 
example  of  this  combination.  In  his  head 
the  three  orders  of  organs  are  well  devel- 
oped, but  the  region  of  the  Sentiments,  lying 
above  the  asterisks,  is  deficient  in  size,  in 
proportion  to  the  basilar  and  occipital  regions 
manifesting  the  Propensities.  While  subject- 
ed to  the  discipline  of  the  army,  he  preserved 
,  a  fair  reputation  :  but  when  he  fell  into  want, 
his  propensities  assumed  the  ascendency,  he  joined  a  company  of 
thieves,  adopted  their  practices,  and  was  executed. 


548  COMBINATIONS   IN    ACTIVITY. 

The  principles  now  laid  down  remove  an  objection  that  has 
frequently  been  stated,  viz.  that  as  different  combinations  modify 
the  manner  in  which  the  faculties  are  manifested,  and  as  the  func- 
tions of  some  parts  at  the  base  of  the  brain  are  still  undiscovered, 
no  certainty  can  be  obtained  regarding  the  functions  even  of  the 
higher  organs  ;  because,  say  the  objectors,  all  the  manifestations 
actually  perceived  may  be  the  result  of  the  joint  action  of  the  known 
and  unknown  parts,  and  hence  it  is  impossible  to  determine  the  spe- 
cific functions  of  each.  The  answer  to  this  objection  is,  that  the 
function  of  each  organ  remains  invariable,  whatever  direction  the 
manifestations  may  take  in  consequence  of  its  acting  in  combin- 
ation with  other  organs.  Hence,  if  we  suppose  the  unknown 
convolutions  at  the  base  of  the  brain  to  be  the  organs  of  Hunger 
and  Thirst,  as  several  facts  indicate,  then  Tune  combined  with 
these  parts  large,  would  be  directed  to  Bacchanalian  songs;  if  com- 
bined with  these  small,  and  Veneration  large,  hymns  would  become 
the  subjects  of  its  manifestation  ;  but,  in  either  case.  Tune  would 
perform  only  its  primitive  function  of  producing  melody. 


COMBINATIONS    IN   ACTIVITY. 

Where  several  organs  are  large  in  the  same  individual,  they 
have  a  natural  tendency  to  combine  in  activity,  and  to  prompt  him 
to  a  line  of  conduct  calculated  to  gratify  them  all.  Where,  how- 
ever, all  or  the  greater  part  of  the  organs  are  possessed  in  nearly 
equal  proportions,  important  practical  effects  may  be  produced, 
by  establishing  Combinations  in  activity  among  particular  organs, 
or  groups  of  organs.  For  example,  if  Individuality,  Eventuality, 
Causality,  Comparison  and  Language,  be  all  large,  they  will  natu- 
rally tend  to  act  together,  and  the  result  of  their  combined  activity 
will  be  a  natural  talent  for  public  speaking,  or  literary  composition. 
If  Language  be  small,  it  will  be  extremely  difficult  to  establish  such 
a  combination  in  activity,  and  the  natural  talent  will  be  deficient; 
but  if  we  take  two  individuals,  in  both  of  whom  this  group  of 
organs  is  of  an  average  size,  and  if  we  train   one  of  them  to  a 


COMBINATIONS    IN   ACTIVITY.  549 

mechanical  employment,  and  the  other  to  the  Bar ;  in  the  latter, 
the  Reflecting  Organs  and  that  of  Language  will  be  trained  to  act 
together,  and  the  result  will  be  an  acquired  facility  in  writing  and 
debate ;  whereas,  in  the  former  individual,  in  consequence  of  the 
organ  of  Language  never  being  accustomed  to  act  in  combination 
with  those  of  Intellect,  this  facility  will  be  wanting.  On  the  same 
principle,  if  a  person  having  an  excellent  endowment  of  the  organs 
of  Propensity,  Sentiment  and  Intellect,  were  introduced  for  the 
first  time  into  higher  society  than  that  to  which  he  had  been 
accustomed,  it  might  happen  that  he  would  lose  for  a  moment  the 
command  of  his  facuhies,  and  exhibit  an  unhappy  specimen  of 
awkwardness  and  embarrassment.  This  would  arise  from  irregular 
and  inharmonious  action  in  the  different  organs;  Veneration  power- 
fully excited  would  prompt  him  to  manifest  profound  respect;  Love 
of  Approbation  would  inspire  him  with  a  strong  desire  to  exhibit 
a  pleasing  and  becoming  appearance  ;  Cautiousness  would  produce 
alarm,  lest  he  should  fail  in  an  essential  of  breeding  ;  Self-Esteem 
would  feel  compromised  by  embarrassment  stealing  on  the  mind; 
and  the  intellect,  distracted  by  these  vivacious  and  conflicting 
emotions,  would  be  unable  to  regulate  the  conduct  according  to 
the  rules  of  propriety.  When  familiarized  with  the  situation,  the 
sentiments  would  subside  into  a  state  of  less  energetic  and  more 
harmonious  action  ;  the  intellect,  assuming  the  supremacy,  would 
regulate  and  direct  the  feelings  ;  and  then  the  individual  might 
become  the  idol  and  ornament  of  the  circle,  in  which  he  at  first 
made  so  awkward  a  debut. 

It  is  in  virtue  of  this  principle  that  education  produces  its  most 
important  effects.  If,  for  instance,  we  take  two  individuals,  in 
each  of  whom  all  the  organs  are  developed  in  an  average  degree ; 
and  if  the  one  of  them  has  been  educated  among  persons  of  sordid 
and  mercenary  dispositions.  Acquisitiveness  and  Self-Esteem  would 
then  be  cultivated  in  him  into  a  high  degree  of  activity,  and  self- 
interest  and  personal  aggrandizement  would  be  viewed  as  the  great 
objects  of  life.  If  the  Love  of  Approbation  were  trained  into 
combined  activity  with  these  faculties,  it  would  desire  distinction 
in  wealth  or  power :  if  Veneration  were  trained  to  act  in  concert 


550  COMBINATIONS   IN   ACTIVITY. 

with  them,  it  would  take  the  direction  of  admiring  the  rich  and 
great;  and,  Conscientiousness  not  being  predominantly  vigorous, 
would  only  intimate  that  such  pursuits  were  unworthy,  without 
possessing  the  power  by  itself  of  overcoming  or  controlling  the 
whole  combination  against  it.  If  another  individual,  possessing 
the  same  developement,  were  trained  amidst  moral  and  religious 
society,  in  whose  habitual  conduct  the  practice  of  benevolence  and 
justice  towards  men,  and  veneration  towards  God,  was  regarded 
as  the  leading  objects  of  human  existence,  the  Love  of  Approba- 
tion, acting  with  this  combination,  would  desire  esteem  for  honor- 
able and  virtuous  actions ;  and  Acquisitiveness  would  be  viewed  as 
the  means  of  procuring  gratification  to  these  higher  powers,  but  not 
as  itself  an  object  of  paramount  importance.  The  practical  conduct 
of  the  two  individuals  might  be  very  different,  in  consequence  of 
this  difference  of  training. 

The  principle  now  under  discussion  is  not  inconsistent  with  the 
influence  of  size  ;  because  it  is  only  in  individuals  in  whom  the 
organs  are  nearly  on  an  equality  in  point  of  size,  that  great  effects 
can  be  produced  by  combinations  in  activity.  In  such  cases  the 
phrenologist,  in  estimating  the  effects  of  size,  always  inquires  into 
the  education  bestowed. 

The  doctrine  of  combinations  in  activity  explains  several  other 
mental  phenomena  of  an  interesting  nature.  In  viewing  the  heads 
of  the  higher  and  lower  classes  of  society,  we  do  not  perceive 
the  animal  organs  preponderating  in  point  of  size  in  the  latter,  and 
those  of  the  moral  sentiments  in  the  former,  in  any  very  palpable 
degree.  The  high  polish,  therefore,  which  chai-acterizes  the  upper 
ranks,  is  the  result  of  sustained  harmony  in  the  action  of  the  dif- 
ferent faculties,  and  especially  in  those  of  the  moral  sentiments, 
induced  by  long  cultivation  ;  while  the  rudeness  observable  in  some 
of  the  lower  orders  results  from  a  predominating  combination  in 
activity  among  the  lower  propensities  ;  while  the  awkwardness  that 
frequently  characterizes  them,  arises  from  the  propensities,  senti- 
ments, and  intellect,  not  being  habituated  to  act  together.  If, 
however,  an  individual  is  very  deficient  in  the  higher  organs,  he 
will  remain  vulgar,  in  consequence  of  this  defect,  although  born 


COMBINATIONS  IN  ACTIVITY.  531 

and  educated  in  the  best  society,  and  in  spite  of  every  effort  to 
communicate  refinement  by  training  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  if 
a  very  favorable  developement  of  the  organs  of  the  higher  senti- 
ments and  intellect,  with  a  fine  temperament,  is  possessed,  the 
individual,  in  whatever  rank  he  moves,  will  have  the  stamp  of 
nature's  nobility. 

Several  moral  phenomena,  which  were  complete  enigmas  to 
the  older  metaphysicians,  are  explained  by  this  principle.  Dr. 
Adam  Smith,  in  his  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments,  Chapter  II., 
"On  the  influence  of  fortune  upon  the  sentiments  of  mankind,  with 
regard  to  the  merit  and  demerit  of  actions,"  states  the  following 
case :  A  person  throws  a  large  stone  over  a  wall  into  the  public 
street,  without  giving  warning  to  those  who  may  be  passing,  and 
without  regarding  where  it  may  fall;  if  it  light  upon  a  person's 
head,  and  knock  out  his  brains,  we  would  punish  the  offender 
pretty  severely  ;  but  if  it  fall  upon  the  ground,  and  hurt  nobody, 
we  would  be  offended  with  the  same  measure  of  punishment, 
which,  in  the  former  event,  we  would  reckon  just,  and  yet  the 
demerit  in  both  cases  is  the  same.  Dr.  Smith  gives  no  theory  to 
account  for  these  differences  of  moral  determination.  Phrenology 
explains  them.  If  the  stone  fall  upon  an  unhappy  passenger,  Be- 
nevolence in  the  spectator  is  outraged  ; — if  the  sufferer  had  a  wife 
and  family,  Philoprogenitiveness  and  Adhesiveness  ai"e  offended. 
Self-Esteem  and  Cautiousness  also  are  excited,  by  the  idea  that  we 
might  have  shared  the  same  fate  ;  all  these  rouse  Destructiveness, 
and  the  whole  together  loudly  demand  a  smart  infliction  on  the 
transgressor.  In  the  other  event,  when  the  stone  falls  to  the 
ground,  and  hurts  nobody,  the  only  faculties  excited  are  Intellect 
and  Conscientiousness,  and  probably  Cautiousness,  and  these  calmly 
look  at  the  motive  of  the  offender,  which  probably  was  mere 
thoughtless  levity,  and  award  a  slight  punishment  against  him. 
The  proper  sentence,  in  such  a  case,  is  that  Vv^hich  would  be 
pronounced  by  Intellect,  and  the  moral  sentiments  acting  in  com- 
bination, uninfluenced  by  the  lower  propensities. 

Dr.  Smith  states  another  case.  One  friend  solicits  a  place  for 
another,  and  after  using  the  greatest  efforts  is  unsuccessful.     Grati- 


552  COMBINATIONS  IN  ACTIVITY. 

tude  in  this  case  is  less  warm  than  if  the  place  had  been  obtained ; 
and  yet  the  merit  is  the  same.  In  the  event  of  success,  Self- 
Esteem,  Acquisitiveness,  and  the  other  animal  organs,  are  gratified, 
and  excite  Conscientiousness,  and  Benevolence  to  gratitude.  In 
the  opposite  result,  the  repressing  influence  of  these  faculties, 
disappointed  and  grieved,  chills  the  glow  of  Benevolence  and 
Conscientiousness,  and  feeble  gratitude  is  felt. 

When  a  person  becomes  judge  in  his  own  cause,  his  mtellect 
may  present  to  him  the  facts  exactly  as  they  happened,  but  these 
excite  in  his  mind,  not  simply  the  sentiment  of  Conscientiousness, 
but  also  Self-Love,  Acquisitiveness,  and,  if  be  has  been  grievously 
injured,  Destructiveness.  Hence  the  decision  of  his  own  mind, 
on  his  own  case,  proceeds  from  Intellect,  influenced  and  directed 
by  all  these  lower  feelings  acting  along  with  Conscientiousness. 
Present  the  same  case  to  an  impartial  spectator,  favorably  consti- 
tuted, and  his  decision  will  be  the  result  of  Conscientiousness  and 
Intellect,  unalloyed  by  the  intermixture  of  the  selfish  emotions. 

Pure  or  abstract  justice,  then,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term,  is 
the  result  of  combined  activity  of  Intellect  and  Conscientiousness, 
uninfluenced  by  the  animal  propensities.  For  example,  if  we  are 
called  on  to  judge  of  the  condtact  of  a  person  accused,  in  order 
to  arrive  at  an  absolutely  just  decision,  the  intellect  must  present  to 
us  a  clear  perception  of  his  real  motives,  and  the  tendency  of  his 
action ;  if  either  of  these  is  wanting,  the  sentiment  of  Conscien- 
tiousness acts  not  on  a  real,  but  on  an  imperfect  or  imaginary 
case;  —  in  the  next  place,  all  the  animal  propensities  must  be 
quiescent ;  because,  if  offended,  Selfishness  or  anger,  or  Acquisi- 
tiveness or  ambition,  or  Adhesiveness,  mingle  with  Conscientious- 
ness, the  fountain  is  polluted,  and  the  stream  cannot  be  pure.  It 
is  an  interesting  fact,  that  the  dictates  of  Conscientiousness,  when 
perfectly  enlightened,  and  not  misled  by  the  lower  feelings,  will  be 
found  always  to  harmonize  with  the  enlightened  dictates  of  Benev- 
olence and  Veneration;  because  the  moral  sentiments  have  been  so 
constituted  as  to  coincide  in  their  results;  and  hence,  wherever  any 
action  or  opinion  is  felt  to  stand  in  opposition  to  any  of  these 
sentiments,  we  may,  without  hesitation,  suspect  either   that  it  is 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  COMBINATIONS.  553 

wrong,  or  that  the  mtellect  is  not  completely  informed  concerning 
its  nature  and  legitimate  consequences. 

In  party-politics,  Adhesiveness,  Love  of  Approbation,  and  Be- 
nevolence, not  to  mention  Combativeness  and  Destructiveness, 
are  extremely  apt  to  enter  into  vivid  activity,  in  surveying  the 
conduct  of  an  individual  who  has  distinguished  himself  by  zealous 
efforts  upon  our  own  side;  and  our  judgment  of  his  conduct  will, 
in  consequence,  be  the  determination  of  Intellect  and  Conscien- 
tiousness, disturbed  and  led  astray  by  these  inferior  feelings. 

The  doctrine  of  the  primitive  functions  of  the  faculties,  explain- 
ed in  the  first  part  of  this  work,  and  of  the  Combinations  now  laid 
down,  shows  why  Phrenology  does  not  enable  us  to  predict  actions. 
Destructiveness,  for  example,  is  not  a  tendency  to  kill  a  man  or 
a  beast  as  a  specific  act,  but  a  mere  general  propensity,  capable 
of  leading  to  destruction  as  its  ultimate  result,  but  which  may  be 
manifested  in  a  great  variety  of  ways  (many  of  them  justifiable, 
others  unjustifiable,)  according  as  it  is  directed  by  the  faculties, 
which,  in  each  particular  instance,  act  along  with  it ;  thus,  acting 
along  with  large  Acquisitiveness,  and  in  the  absence  of  Conscien- 
tiousness, it  may  prompt  to  murder;  while  acting  along  with  large 
Conscientiousness  and  Benevolence,  it  may  prove  the  orphan's 
help,  and  the  widow's  stay,  by  arresting  the  arm  of  the  oppressor. 


PRACTICAL     APPLICATION     OF     THE      DOCTRINE     OF      THE 
COMBINATIONS. 

I  CANNOT  too  earnestly  repeat,  that  the  principles  now  illustrated 
are  practical  and  important.  If  any  one  require  the  assistance  of 
a  human  being  in  affairs  of  moment,  let  him  be  assured  that  atten- 
tion to  the  three  elements  of  temperament,  combination  of  mental 
organs,  and  education  or  training,  will  afford  him  more  certain 
information  regarding  the  inherent  qualities  of  the  object  and  his 
practical  capabilities,  than  certificates  of  character  and  attainments, 
such  as  are  commonly  relied  on.  The  extent  to  which  this  work 
.   70 


554  PRACTICAL  APPLICATION  OF  THE 

has  already  attained,  prevents  me,  however,  from  doing  more  than 
making  a  few  observations. 

In  one  instance  I  refused  to  hire  a  boy  as  a  servant,  because 
I  found  his  head  to  belong  to  the  inferior  class,  although  he  was 
introduced  by  a  woman  whose  good  character  and  discrimination  I 
had  long  known,  and  who  gave  him  an  excellent  character.  That 
individual  was  at  first  greatly  incensed  at  my  refusing  to  engage  the 
boy,  but  within  a  month  she  returned,  and  said  that  she  had  been 
grossly  imposed  upon  herself  by  a  neighbor,  whose  son  the  boy 
was ;  that  she  had  since  learned  that  he  was  a  thief,  and  had  been 
dismissed  from  his  previous  service  for  stealing.  On  another 
occasion  I  hired  a  female  servant,  because  her  head  belonged  to 
the  superior  class,  although  a  former  mistress  gave  her  a  very 
indifferent  character, — the  result  was  equally  in  favor  of  Phrenolo- 
gy. She  turned  out  an  excellent  servant,  and  remained  with  me 
for  several  years,  until  she  was  respectably  married.* 

When  a  servant  is  to  be  hired,  the  points  to  be  attended  to  are 
the  following. 

First,  The  temperament. — If  this  be  lymphatic,  there  will  be 
little  spontaneous  activity ;  work  will  be  a  burden ;  and  exhaustion 
will  soon  follow  from  forced  application.  If  it  be  purely  nervous, 
there  will  be  great  vivacity,  and  a  strong  natural  tendency  to  activ- 
ity ;  but  physical  strength  will  not  be  present  in  a  corresponding 
degree.  Combinations  of  the  sanguine  and  bilious,  or  bilious  and 
nervous  temperaments,  are  the  best;  the  bilious  bestowing  the 
quality  of  endurance,  and  the  sanguine  or  nervous  that  of  activity. 

Second,  The  proportions  of  the  different  regions  of  the  brain  to 
each  other. — If  the  base  of  the  brain,  the  seat  of  the  animal  organs, 
be  large,  and  the  coronal  region  be  shallow  and  narrow,  the  animal 
feelings  will  be  strong,  and  the  moral  weak;  if  both  of  these  regions 
be  large,  and  the  anterior  lobe  of  the  brain  small,  the  dispositions 
may  be  good,  but  the  intellect  Avill  be  weak.     If  all  three  be  large, 

*  A  report  of  eleven  cases  observed  in  the  Dublin  Penitentiary  is  published  in 
the  Phrenological  Journal,  No.  xxi.  p.  88,  in  which  the  dispositions  were  infer- 
red from  developement  of  brain. 


DOCTRINE   OF   THE  COMBINATIONS.  556 

the  moral  and  intellectual  predominating,  the  best  combination  of 
qualities  will  be  present. 

Third,  The  proportions  of  particular  organs  to  each  other. — If 
the  lower  region  of  the  forehead  be  largely  developed,  and  the 
upper  deficient,  the  intellect  will  execute  well  whatever  work  is 
placed  before  it ;  but  it  will  be  limited  in  its  capacity  of  foreseeing 
what  ought  to  be  done,  if  not  pointed  out,  and  of  arranging  details 
in  reference  to  the  whole.  If  the  upper  part  of  the  forehead  be 
large,  and  the  lower  deficient,  the  power  of  abstract  thinking 
(which  a  servant  rarely  requires,  and  is  almost  never  called  on  to 
exercise)  will  be  considerable,  but  quite  uncultivated,  and  destitute 
of  materials  to  act  on ;  while  the  talent  for  observing  details,  the 
love  of  order  and  arrangement,  and,  in  short,  practical  usefulness, 
will  be  deficient.  The  best  combination  of  the  intellectual  organs 
for  a  servant,  is  that  which  occurs  when  the  lower  region  of  the 
forehead  is  large,  the  middle  region  immediately  above  the  nose, 
"up  to  the  line  of  the  hair,  is  also  large,  and  the  upper  lateral  region 
full.  The  dispositions  depend  on  the  combinations  of  the  moral 
and  animal  organs.  If  Acquisitiveness,  Secretiveness,  Love  of 
Approbation,  and  Veneration  be  all  large,  and  Conscientiousness 
deficient,  the  servant  will  be  selfish  and  cunning ;  but  extremely 
plausible,  deferential,  and  polite ;  eye-service  will  be  rendered 
abundantly,  but  conscientious  discharge  of  duty  will  be  wanting. 
If  Benevolence,  Conscientiousness,  Firmness,  Self-Esteem,  and 
Combativeness  be  large,  in  combination  with  Cautiousness,  Se- 
cretiveness, Love  of  Approbation,  and  Veneration  moderate,  there 
may  be  great  fidelity  and  honesty,  with  heat  of  temper,  unbending 
stiffness  of  deportment,  and,  in  short,  an  exterior  manner,  the 
reverse  of  the  former;  but  internal  dispositions  and  practical  conduct 
in  situations  of  trust  far  superior.  The  combinations  also  deter- 
mine the  fitness  of  the  individual  for  particular  employments  ;  a 
female  with  small  Philoprogenitiveness  ought  never  to  be  employed 
as  a  nursery-maid ;  nor  one  deficient  in  Order  and  Ideality  as  a 
lady's  maid.  A  man  deficient  in  Conscientiousness  is  unfit  to  be  a 
butler  or  steward.  The  varieties  of  combination  are  extremely 
numerous,  and  the  effects  of  them  can  be  learned  only  by  experience. 


556  PRACTICAL  APPLICATION   OF  THE 

Fourth^  The  education  or  training  of  the  individual  falls  to  be 
inquired  into. — Phrenology  shows  only  the  natural  qualities,  but 
the  direction  which  they  have  received  must  be  ascertained  by 
inquiry.  No  combination  of  organs  will  render  an  individual  an 
expert  cook,  without  having  practised  cookery,  or  an  accomplished 
coachman,  without  having  practically  taken  charge  of  horses,  and 
learned  to  drive. 

Fifth,  The  relation  of  the  natural  qualities  of  the  master  or 
mistress  to  those  of  the  servant  must  be  attended  to. — If  a  mistress 
with  a  small  brain,  having  Conscientiousness  and  Benevolence 
moderate,  and  Self-Esteem  and  Combativeness  large,  should  hire 
a  servant  possessed  of  a  large,  active,  and  well  proportioned  brain, 
the  latter  will  instinctively  feel  that  nature  has  made  her  the  supe- 
rior, although  fortune  has  reversed  their  relative  positions.  The 
mistress  will  feel  this  too,  but  will  maintain  her  command  by 
imperiousness,  captiousness,  or  violence.  In  this  condition,  the 
best  dispositions  of  the  servant  may  be  outraged,  and  conduct  pro- 
duced of  a  discreditable  nature,  when  contemplated  by  itself,  apart 
from  the  provocation.  A  servant  with  a  small  brain,  but  favorable 
combination,  would-  prove  a  treasure  to  a  mistress  possessed  of 
similar  qualities ;  whereas  she  would  be  felt  as  too  feeble  and  in- 
efficient in  her  whole  rnanner  and  mode  of  acting,  by  a  lady  whose 
brain  was  very  large,  very  favorably  combined,  and  very  active. 
This  principle  explains  why  the  same  individual  may  be  found  to 
be  an  excellent  servant  in  one  family,  and  an  unsuitable  one  in 
another. 

Sixth,  The  qualities  of  servants,  in  reference  to  each  other, 
ought  to  be  considered. — Two  individuals,  possessing  large  and 
active  brains,  great  Self-Esteem,  Love  of  Approbation,  and  Com- 
bativeness, may,  if  they  have  also  large  Benevolence,  Veneration, 
and  Conscientiousness,  prove  excellent  servants  to  their  employers, 
whom  they  regard  as  legitimate  objects  of  veneration  and  conscien- 
tiousness ;  but  may  make  very  indifferent  companions  to  each  other. 
Each  will  desire  deference  and  respect  from  the  other,  which 
neither  will  yield ;  and  in  all  probability,  they  will  quai'rel  and 
manifest  only  their  propensities  in  their  mutual  intercourse.     In- 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE   COMBINATIONS.  557 

struction  in  their  own  nature,  and  in  the  proper  direction  of  their 
feelings,  would,  in  many  instances,  remedy  this  evil.  But  while 
ignorance  continues,  it  is  advisable  to  rely  chiefly  on  natural  quali- 
ties :  for  example,  if  one  servant  has  Self-Esteem  large,  a  compa- 
nion should  be  selected  in  whom  this  organ  is  moderate ;  and  the 
same  with  Combativeness.  When  this  is  neglected,  the  natural 
language  of  Self-Esteem  or  Combativeness  in  the  one  involuntarily 
excites  the  same  feeling  in  the  other,  and  harmony  is  neaily  im- 
possible :  whereas,  if  one  has  Self-Esteem  large,  and  the  other  has 
it  small,  the  natural  expression  of  the  former  is  not  painful  to  the 
latter ;  on  the  contrary,  the  absence  of  pretension,  which  attends  a 
small  Self-Esteem,  renders  the  latter  agreeable  to  the  former,  and 
a  sincere  mutual  regard  may  arise  between  them. 

It  will  be  obvious  to  every  reflecting  person,  that  the  circum- 
stance of  a  servant  being  rejected  by  a  phrenologist,  is  no  proof 
of  the  individual  being  essentially  bad ;  it  shows  only,  that,  in  one 
or  other  of  the  six  points  before  mentioned,  the  individual  did  not 
suit  the  particular  phrenologist,  and  no  more.  The  servant  may  be 
admirably  qualified  for  a  different  employer. 

These  observations  are  offered  as  hints  of  several  particulars 
which  appear  to  me  proper  to  be  attended  to,  and  not  as  complete 
practical  directions.  The  elements  which  compose  human  char- 
acter are  so  numerous,  their  combinations  so  intricate,  and  so  little 
has  been  done  in  the  practical  apphcation  of  the  science,  in  the 
manner  now  recommended,  that  it  is  impossible  to  be  too  modest 
either  in  giving  directions  or  in  promising  results.  Experience  is 
the  great  teacher,  and  my  sole  object  is  to  induce  phrenologists  to 
seek  experience  by  practice.  I  am  aware  that  many  of  my  readers 
will  feel,  that,  to  act  upon  the  principles  unfolded  even  in  this  brief 
statement,  much  greater  attainments  would  be  requisite  than  they 
at  present  possess ;  and  hence,  many  of  them  may  consider  the 
remarks  as  altogether  useless  ;  but  several  answers  may  be  made 
to  this  objection.  First,  There  are  several  phrenologists  who 
actually  practise  what  is  here  recommended,  and  have  experienced 
great  advantages  from  it  ;  and  what  has  been  done  successfully  and 
with  benefit  by  some,  may  be  accomplished  by  others.     Secondly, 


558  PRACTICAL  APPLICATION  OF  THE 

Science  is  useless  unless  it  be  practical ;  all  practical  sciences  must 
advance  by  experience;  and  it  is  only  by  beginning  and  persevering 
that  experience  can  be  gained.  And,  thirdly,  Even  those  persons 
who  are  conscious  of  incapacity  to  practice  these  rules,  must  per- 
ceive the  advantage  of  acting  on  them  if  they  could  ;  and  must  feel 
that,  until  some  mode  of  guiding  the  judgment  in  the  selection  of 
servants  shall  be  resorted  to,  which  shall  bring  into  view  the  points 
before  treated  of,  uncertainty,  disappointment,  and  annoyance, 
must  afflict  both  masters  and  servants.  And,  finally.  Every  per- 
son of  common  reflection  will  acknowledge,  that  while  it  would  be 
a  great  advantage  to  obtain  the  foregoing  knowledge  of  human 
chai-acter,  there  is  no  system  of  mental  philosophy  in  existence 
which  affords  even  the  least  aid  in  attempting  it,  if  Phrenology 
does  not  do  so. 

This  application  of  Phrenology  has  suggested  the  question,  Are 
individuals  with  "  ill  shaped  heads  "  to  become  "  outcasts  from 
society?  "  This  is  precisely  the  evil  which,  under  the  actual  sys- 
tem of  criminal  legislation,  exists,  and  which  the  phrenologists  are 
laboring  to  remove.  An  unfavorably  developed  brain,  and  good 
natural  dispositions,  are  two  conditions,  which  do  not  co-exist  in 
nature.  Phrenologists,  therefore,  by  establishing  the  fact,  that  an 
imperfectly  formed  brain  renders  an  individual  naturally  prone  to 
vice,  will  afford  an  inducement  to  society  to  treat  men  so  con- 
stituted as  moral  patients,  and  to  use  more  effectual  means  for 
restraining  their  propensities  than  any  that  are  at  present  adopted. 
This,  in  my  opinion,  would  be  preferable  to  the  existing  practice, 
which  leaves  men  with  the  worst  natural  dispositions  at  liberty,  in 
the  worst  of  circumstances,  to  follow  their  instinctive  tendencies, 
and  only  punishes  them  severely  after  having  committed  crimes. 
At  present  these  beings  are  surrounded  by  want,  misery,  and  the 
means  of  intoxication.  They  transgress  the  criminal  law,  are  con- 
fined in  jails  and  bridewells,  calculated  to  exciie  their  propensities, 
and  to  afford  little  cultivation  to  their  moral  powers  ;  they  are 
steeped  in  vice,  branded  with  infamy,  and  then  ejected  into  the  im- 
moral atmosphere  from  which  they  were  taken ;  a  mode  of  treatment 
which  could  not  exist,  if  Phrenology  were  believed  and  understood. 


DOCTRINE   OF  THE   COMBINATIONS.  559 

It  has  been  further  asked  by  way  of  objection,  "  Does  Mr. 
Combe  deny,  that  in  the  case  he  mentions,  the  boy  whom  he 
rejected  might  have  had  a  good  character,  notwithstanding  the  indi- 
cations of  his  original  propensities?  If  he  denies  this,  he  denies  a 
proposition  which  he  himself  has  always  stated,  and  from  which  he 
derives  the  practical  value  of  Phrenology;  namely,  that  the  original 
propensities  can  be  corrected,  and  even  eradicated,  by  education, 
and  other  means." 

Ansioer:  I  have  not  stated  that  the  "original  propensities  can  be 
eradicated  by  education  and  other  means."  If  so.  Phrenology 
would  necessarily  be  a  dream.  What  I  have  said  is  this, — that 
all  the  faculties  may  be  directed  to  proper  objects,  and,  when  so 
directed,  their  action  will  become  good.  But  to  guide  strong 
animal  propensities  to  virtue,  there  must  be  a  directing  power.  If 
there  be  vigorous,  moral,  and  intellectual  faculties  in  the  individual 
himself,  he  will,  in  that  case,  be  a  law  and  a  guide  unto  himself. 
If,  however,  the  moral  and  intellectual  faculties  be  deficient,  which 
was  the  case  with  the  individual  under  discussion,  then  I  certainly 
maintain,  that  strong  animal  feelings  will  not  guide  themselves  to 
virtue.  In  this  case,  the  directing  power  must  be  supplied  from 
without.  The  case  of  E.  S.,  mentioned  in  the  Phrenological 
Journal,  No.  XXI.  p.  82.  and  147,  is  exactly  in  point,  and  illus- 
trates the  positions  here  maintained.  Now,  if  the  boy  had  been 
placed  from  infancy  in  an  asylum,  from  which  temptation  to  vice 
was  excluded,  and  in  which  the  highest  moral  and  intellectual  treat- 
ment was  administered,  he  might  have  had  a  good  character,  not- 
withstanding the  form  of  his  brain  ;  because,  so  situated^  he  could 
not  have  offended.  But  I  was  informed  that  he  had  been  brought 
up  in  the  ordinary  circumstances  of  the  laboring  classes  in  this 
country;  and  extensive  observation  had  convinced  me,  that  that 
condition  does  not  withdraw  temptation  from  the  propensities,  and 
does  not  supply  moral  and  intellectual  stimulus  to  the  higher  facul- 
ties, sufficient  to  direct  a  mind  constituted  like  his  to  morality.  I 
therefore  inferred,  that  his  good  character  was  false  ;  which  it 
actually  proved  to  be.  At  present  society  is  greatly  deficient  in 
institutions  in  which  the  moral  influence  of  higher  minds  can  be 


560  DOCTRINE   OF   THE   COMBINATIONS. 

brought  habitually  to  bear  on  inferior  minds,  in  the  absence  of 
external  temptation. 

In  consequence  also  of  the  lamentable  ignorance  of  the  nature  of 
individuals^  which  too  generally  abounds,  the  mental  deficiencies 
in  which  the  tendency  to  crime  originates  are  not  understood,  and 
still  less  is  the  immense  power  of  moral  influence  which  the  best 
order  of  minds  could  wield  over  the  inferior  duly  appreciated. 
This  influence,  however,  cannot  exert  itself  efficiently,  unless 
external  temptation  to  evil  be  withdrawn,  which  cannot  be  the  case 
without  institutions  formed  for  the  purpose.  Phrenology  will  hasten 
the  day  when  these  shall  exist.  Society  is  in  possession,  from 
history  and  observation,  of  a  pretty  accurate  knowledge  of  human 
nature  in  general ;  but  this  knowledge  is  too  general  to  be  prac- 
tically useful.  When  an  individual  is  presented  to  them,  they 
cannot  tell  whether  he  is  naturally  a  Caligula  or  a  Washington. 
Phrenology  not  only  gives  a  scientific  basis  and  form  to  the  general 
knowledge  of  mankind  already  existing,  but  renders  it  available  in 
particular  instances  ;  it  unfolds  the  natural  qualities  of  individual 
men,  and  enables  us  to  judge  how  far  they  will  be  inclined  to  one 
course  of  action  or  to  another.  I  consider  it,  therefore,  neither 
unjust  nor  inhumane  to  decline  taking  into  my  service  individuals 
whom  I  know  to  be  unfitted  by  their  mental  qualities  for  the  duties 
which  they  would  be  required  to  perform.  In  short,  if  society  at 
large  would  read  the  marks  set  by  Providence  on  men,  and  act 
according  to  reason  and  sound  morality,  then,  instead  of  giving 
false  characters  of  vicious  individuals  (through  Benevolence  acting 
without  Conscientiousness,)  and,  in  consequence,  exposing  each 
other  to  loss  of  property  and  life  by  criminal  depredations,  they 
would  see  the  propriety  of  treating,  as  moral  patients,  those  persons 
whose  mental  deficiencies  render  them  incapable  of  guiding  them- 
selves to  virtue. 

The  principles  now  expounded,  apply  to  the  selection  of  indi- 
viduals to  fill  every  situation  in  life.  In  my  separate  work,  on 
"  the  Constitution  of  Man,"  the  application  of  Phrenology  to 
morals  and  practical  conduct,  is  farther  elucidated. 


CEREBRAL  DEVELOPEMENT  OF   NATIONS.  561 


ON  THE  COINCIDENCE  BETWEEN  THE  NATURAL  TALENTS 
AND  DISPOSITIONS  OF  NATIONS,  AND  THE  DEVELOPE- 
MENT   OF    THEIR    BRAINS. 

The  mental  character  of  an  individual,  at  any  given  time,  is  the 
result  of  his  natural  endowment  of  faculties,  modified  by  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  he  has  been  placed.  The  first  element,  or 
natural  constitution,  is  admitted,  by  most  thinking  men,  to  form 
the  basis  of,  and  prescribe  the  limits  to,  the  operation  of  the 
second.  If  a  child  is  by  nature  extremely  combative,  and  very 
little  cautious,  highly  prone  to  covetousness,  and  very  insensible  to 
justice,  a  reflecting  guardian  will  adopt  a  different  method  of  edu- 
cation, and  expect  different  consequences,  than  if  his  natural  dispo- 
sitions were  exactly  the  reverse. 

A  nation  is  composed  of  individuals,  and  what  is  true  of  all  the 
parts  (which  in  a  nation  preserve  their  individuality,)  must  hold 
good  of  the  whole  ; — nevertheless  the  fashionable  doctrine  is,  that 
national  character  depends  altogether  on  external  circumstances  ; 
and  that  the  native  stock  of  animal,  moral,  and  intellectual  powers 
on  which  these  operate,  is  the  same  in  New  Holland  and  in 
England,  in  Hindostan  and  in  France.  Mr.  Stewart  informs  us, 
"  That  the  capacities  of  the  human  mind  have  been,  in  all  ages,  the 
same  ;  and  that  the  diversity  of  phenomena  exhibited  by  our  species 
is  the  result  merely  of  the  different  circumstances  in  which  men 
are  placed."  "This,"  says  he,  "has  long  been  received  as  an 
uncontrovertible  logical  maxim  ;  or  rather,  such  is  the  influence  of 
early  instruction,  that  we  are  apt  lo  regard  it  as  one  of  the  most 
obvious  suggestions  of  common  sense.  And  yet,  till  about  the 
time  of  Montesquieu,  it  was  by  no  means  so  generally  recognised 
by  the  learned  as  to  have  a  sensible  influence  on  the  fashionable 
tone  of  thinking  over  Europe."* 

There  is  some  ambiguity  in  this  passage. — The  proposition,  that 
"the  capacities  of  the  human  mind  have  been,  in  all  aoes^  the 
"  Dissertation,  p.  53. 

71 


562  ON   THE   CEREBRAL 

same,"  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  they  have  been  alike  in  all 
jv^r/ojvs.  The  Hindoo  mind  may  have  been  the  same  in  the  year 
100  as  in  the  year  1800,  and  so  may  the  English  and  all  other 
national  minds  ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that  either  in  the  year  100 
or  1800  the  English  and  Hindoo  minds  were  constituted  by  nature 
alike  ;  and  yet  this  is  what  I  understand  Mr.  Stewart  to  mean; 
for  he  adds,  "  that  the  diversity  of  phenomena  exhibited  by  our 
species  is  the  result  merely  of  the  different  circumstances  in  which 
men  are  placed;"  embracing  in  this  proposition  men  of  every 
nation  as  equally  gifted  in  natural  powers.  Now,  there  is  reason 
to  question  this  doctrine,  and  to  regard  it  as  not  merely  specula- 
tively erroneous,  but  as  laying  the  foundation  of  a  great  deal  of 
most  hurtful  practice. 

When  we  regard  the  different  quarters  of  the  globe,  we  are 
struck  with  the  extreme  dissimilarity  in  the  attainments  of  the 
varieties  of  men  who  inhabit  them.  If  we  glance  over  the  history 
of  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  America,  we  shall  find  distinct  and 
permanent  features  of  character  which  strongly  indicate  natural 
differences  in  their  mental  constitutions.  The  inhabitants  of 
Europe  have  manifested,  in  all  ages,  a  strong  tendency  towards 
moral  and  intellectual  improvement.  As  far  back  as  history 
reaches,  we  find  society  instituted,  arts  practised,  and  literature 
taking  root,  not  only  in  intervals  of  tranquillity,  but  amidst  the 
alarms  of  war.  Before  the  foundation  of  Rome,  the  Etruscans 
had  established  civihzation  and  the  arts  in  Italy.  Under  the  Greek 
and  Roman  empires,  philosophy,  literature,  and  the  fine  arts,  were 
sedulously  and  successfully  cultivated ;  and  that  portion  of  the 
people  whose  wealth  enabled  them  to  pay  for  education,  attained  a 
high  degree  of  intelligence  and  refinement.  By  the  irruption  of 
the  northern  hordes,  these  countries  were  subsequently  involved 
in  a  chaos  of  ignorance ;  —  but  again  the  sun  of  science  rose, 
the  clouds  of  Gothic  darkness  were  dispelled,  and  Europe  took 
the  lead  of  the  world  in  science,  morals,  and  philosophy.  In 
the  inhabitants  of  this  portion  of  the  globe,  there  appears  an  elas- 
ticity of  mind  incapable  of  being  permanently  repressed.  Borne 
down  for  a  time  by  external  violence,  their  mental  energies  seem 


DEVELOPEMENT   OF   NATIONS.  563 

to  have  gathered  strength  under  the  restraint,  have  burst. their 
fetters,  and  at  length  overcome  everj  obstacle  opposed  to  their 
expansion. 

When,  on  the  other  hand,  we  turn  our  attention  to  Asia,  we 
perceive  manners  and  institutions,  which  belong  to  a  period  too 
remote  to  be  ascertained,  and  yet  far  inferior  to  the  European 
standard.  The  people  of  Asia  early  arrived  at  a  point  compara- 
tively low  in  the  scale  of  improvement,  which  they  have  never 
passed. 

The  history  of  Africa,  so  far  as  Africa  can  be  said  to  have  a 
history,  presents  similar  phenomena.  The  annals  of  the  races 
who  have  inhabited  that  Continent,  with  few  exceptions,  exhibit 
one  unbroken  scene  of  moral  and  intellectual  desolation  ;  and  in  a 
quarter  of  the  globe  embracing  the  greatest  varieties  of  soil  and 
climate,  no  nation  is  at  this  day  to  be  found  whose  institutions 
indicate  even  moderate  civilization.* 

The  aspect  of  native  America  is  still  more  deplorable.  Sur- 
rounded for  centuries  by  European  knowledge,  enterprise,  and 
energy,  and  incited  to  improvement  by  the  example  of  European 
institutions,  they  remain,  at  the  present  time,  the  same  miserable, 
wandering,  houseless,  and  lawless  savages  as  their  ancestors  were, 
when  Columbus  first  set  foot  upon  their  soil.  Partial  exceptions 
to  this  description  may  be  found  in  some  of  the  southern  districts 
of  North  America  ;  but  the  numbers  who  have  even  attempted  to 
adopt  the  mode  of  civilized  life  are  so  small,  and  the  progress  made 
by  them  so  limited,  that,  speaking  of  the  race,  we  do  not  exagger- 
ate in  saying,  that  they  remain  to  the  present  hour  enveloped  in 
all  their  primitive  barbarity,  and  that  they  have  profited  nothing 
by  the  introduction  amongst  them  of  arts,  sciences,  and  philosophy. 
The  same  observations  have  occurred  to  a  writer  in  the  Edinburgh 
Review.     The  following  remarks,  on  the  native  American  char- 

*  Since  the  observation  in  the  text  was  written,  accounts  have  appeared  of  a 
people  discovered  by  Major  Clapperton  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  in  a  state  qF 
comparative  civilization.  It  is  said,  that,  although  they  are  jet  black,  they  are 
not  Negroes,  and  it  is  conjectured  that  they  are  the  descendants  of  the  Numidians 
of  ancient  history.  If  the  representations  of  their  attainments  be  correct,  1  an- 
ticipate in  them  a  brain  developed  like  the  European. 


564  ON   THE   CEREBRAL 

acter,  appeared  in  that  work  in  an  article  on  "  Howison's  Upper 
Canada,"  June,  1822: — "From  all  that  we  learn,"  says  the 
Reviewer,  "  of  the  state  of  the  aborigines  of  this  great  continent 
from  this  volume,  and  from  every  other  source  of  information,  it 
is  evident  that  they  are  making  no  advances  towards  civilization. 
It  is  certainly  a  striking  and  mysterious  fact,  that  a  race  of  men 
should  thus  have  continued  for  ages  stationary  in  a  state  of  the 
rudest  barbarism.  That  tendency  to  improvement,  a  principle 
that  has  been  thought  more  than  perhaps  any  other  to  distinguish 
man  from  the  lower  animals,  would  seem  to  be  totally  wanting  in 
them.  Generation  after  generation  passes  away,  and  no  traces  of 
advancement  distinguish  the  last  from  the  first.  The  mighty  wil- 
derness they  inhabit  may  be  traversed  from  end  to  end,  and  hardly 
a  vestige  be  discovered  that  marks  the  hand  of  man.  It  might 
naturally  have  been  expected,  that,  in  the  course  of  ages,  some 
superior  genius  would  have  arisen  among  them  to  inspire  his 
countrymen  with  a  desire  to  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace,  and  estab- 
lish some  durable  civil  institution  ;  or  that,  at  least,  during  the  long 
period  since  the  Europeans  have  been  settled  amongst  them,  and 
taught  them,  by  such  striking  examples,  the  benefits  of  industry 
and  social  order,  they  would  have  been  tempted  to  endeavor 
to  participate  in  blessings  thus  providentially  brought  within  their 
reach.  But  all  has  been  unavailing  ;  and  it  now  seems  certain 
that  the  North  American  Indians,  like  the  bears  and  wolves,  are 
destined  to  flee  at  the  approach  of  civilized  man,  and  to  fall 
before  his  renovating  hand,  and  disappear  from  the  face  of  the 
earth  along  with  those  ancient  forests  which  alone  afford  them 
sustenance  and  shelter." 

The  theory  usually  advanced  to  account  for  these  differences  of 
national  character  is,  that  they  are  produced  by  diversities  of  soil 
and  climate.  But,  although  these  may  reasonably  be  supposed  to 
exert  a  certain  influence,  they  are  altogether  inadequate  to  explain 
the  whole  phenomena.  We  ought  ever  to  bear  in  mind,  that 
Nature  is  constant  in  her  operations,  and  that  the  same  causes 
invariably  produce  the  same  effects.  Hence,  when  we  find  excep- 
tions in  resuh,  without  being  able  to  assign  differences  in  causes. 


DEVELOPEMENT  OF  NATIONS.  565 

"we  may  rest  assured  that  we  have  not  found  the  true  or  the  only- 
cause,  and  our  diligence  ought  to  be  quickened  to  obtain  new 
light,  and  not  employed  in  maintaining  the  sufficiency  of  that  which 
we  possess. 

If  we  survey  a  map  of  the  world,  we  shall  find  nations  whose 
soil  is  fertile  and  climate  temperate,  in  a  lower  degree  of  improve- 
ment than  others  who  are  less  favored.  In  Van  Dieman's  Land 
and  New  South  Wales  a  few  natives  have  existed  in  the  most 
wretched  poverty,  ignorance,  and  degradation,  in  a  country  which 
enriches  Europeans  as  fast  as  they  possess  it.  In  America,  too, 
Europeans  and  native  Indians  have  lived  for  centuries  under  the 
influence  of  the  same  physical  causes,  the  former  have  kept  pace 
in  their  advances  with  their  brethren  in  the  Old  Continent,  while 
the  latter,  as  we  have  seen,  remain  stationary  in  savage  ignorance 
and  indolence. 

Such  differences  are  not  confined  to  the  great  continents  alone  ; 
but  different  tribes  in  the  same  hemisphere  seem  to  possess  differ- 
ent native  minds,  and  these  remain  unchanged  through  numerous 
ages.  Tacitus  describes  the  Gauls  as  gay,  volatile,  and  precipitate, 
prone  to  rush  to  action,  but  without  the  power  of  sustaining  adver- 
sity and  the  tug  of  strife  ;  and  this  is  the  character  of  the  Celtic 
portion  of  the  French  nation  down  to  the  present  day.  He  repre- 
sents the  Britons  as  cool,  considerate,  and  sedate,  possessed  of 
intellectual  talent,  and  says  that  he  prefers  their  native  aptitude 
to  the  livelier  manners  of  the  Gauls.  The  same  mental  qualities 
characterize  the  English  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  they  and 
the  French  may  still  be  contrasted  in  similar  terms.  Tacitus 
describes  the  Germans,  allowing  for  their  state  of  civilization,  as  a 
bold,  prudent,  self-denying,  and  virtuous  people,  possessed  of  great 
force  of  character ;  and  the  same  features  distinguish  them  still. 
The  native  Irishman,  in  manners,  dispositions,  and  capacities,  is 
a  being  widely  different  from  the  lowland  Scotchman ;  and 
although  we  trace  the  two  nations  to  the  remotest  antiquity,  the 
same  characteristic  differences  are  found. 

These  differences  between  nations  living  under  similar  climates, 
are  commonly  attributed  entirely  to  the  religious  and  political  insti- 


666  ON  THE  CEREBRAL 

tutions  of  the  several  countries.  Presbytery  and  parish  schools, 
for  example,  are  supposed  to  have  rendered  the  Scotchman  habits 
ually  attentive  to  his  own  interest,  but  cautious,  thoughtful,  and 
honest  ;  while  Popery  and  CathoHc  priests  have  made  the  Irish- 
man free  and  generous  withal,  but  precipitate  and  unreflecting,— 
ready  in  the  gust  of  passion  to  sacrifice  his  friend,  and  in  the  glow 
of  friendship  to  immolate  himself.  It  is  forgotten,  that  there  were 
ages  in  which  Popery  and  priests  had  equal  ascendency  in  all  the 
British  isles,  and  that  the  Englishman,  Irishman,  and  Scotchman, 
were  beings  as  specifically  distinct  then  as  at  present ;  besides,  the 
more  correct,  as  well  as  the  more  profound  view,  is  to  regard 
rehgious  and  political  institutions,  when  not  forced  upon  a  people 
by  external  conquest,  as  the  spontaneous  growth  of  their  natural 
propensities,  sentiments,  and  intellectual  faculties.  Hierarchies 
and  constitutions  do  not  spring  from  the  ground,  but  frorii  the 
minds  of  men  :  If  we  suppose  one  nation  to  be  gifted  with  much 
Wonder  and  Veneration,  and  little  Conscientiousness,  Reflection, 
and  Self-Esteem,  and  another  to  possess  an  endowment  exactly 
the  reverse,  it  is  obvious  that  the  first  would  be  naturally  prone  to 
superstition  in  religion,  and  serviUty  in  the  state  ;  while  the  second 
would,  by  native  instinct,  resist  all  attempts  to  make  them  rever- 
ence things  unholy,  and  tend  constantly  towards  political  insti- 
tutions, fitted  to  afibrd  to  each  individual  the  gratification  of  his 
Self-Esteem  in  independence,  and  his  Conscientiousness  in 
equality  before  the  law.  Those  who  contend  that  institutions  come 
first,  and  that  character  follows  as  their  effect,  are  bound  to  assign 
a  cause  for  the  institutions  themselves.  If  they  do  not  spring  from 
the  native  mind,  and  are  not  forced  on  the  people  by  conquest, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  whence  they  can  originate. 

The  phrenologist  is  not  satisfied  with  these  commom  theories 
of  national  character  ;  he  has  observed  that  a  particular  form  of 
brain  is  the  invariable  concomitant  of  particular  dispositions  and 
talents,  and  that  this  holds  in  the  case  of  nations  as  well  as  of 
individuals. 

In  the  Phrenological  Transactions,  an  account  is  given  of  the 
Phrenology   of    Hindostan,    by    Dr.     G.     M.     Patterson.     The 


DEVELOPEJVIENT  OF  NATIONS.  567 

HINDOOS  are  remarkable  for  want  of  force  of  character,  so  much 
so,  that  a  handful  of  Europeans  overcomes  in  combat,  and  holds 
in  permanent  subjection  thousands,  nay  millions,  of  that  people. 
Power  of  mental  manifestation  bears  a  proportion  to  the  size  of  the 
cerebral  organs,  and  the  Hindoo  head  is  small,  and  the  European 
large,  in  precise  conformity  with  the  different  mental  characters.* 
Farther,  the  Hindoo  is  distinguished  by  a  great  respect  for  animal 
life,  and  absence  of  cruelty  in  his  disposi- 
tions ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  is  destitute  Hindoo. 
of  fire,  and  of  that  energy  of  mind  which 
overcomes  obstacles  and  gives  force  to 
command.  The  European  is  precisely  the 
opposite ;  he  lives  to  a  great  extent  upon 
animal  food,  is  fierce  in  his  anger,  and  is 
characterized  by  great  combative  and  de- 
structive vigor.  The  Hindoo  skull  indicates  a  manifest  deficiency 
in  the  organs  of  Combativeness  and  Destructiveness  ;  while,  in 
the  European,  these  parts  are  amply  developed.  The  Hindoo 
is  cunning,  timid,  and  proud  ;  and  in  him  Secretiveness,  Cautious- 
ness and  Self-Esteem,  are  large  in  proportion  to  the  organs  last 
mentioned.  In  intellect,  the  Hindoo  is  more  prone  to  analogical 
than  direct  reasoning,  is  fond  of  metaphors  and  comparisons,  and 
little  given  to  discriminating  differences  ;  and  the  organ  of  Com- 
parison is  much  larger  in  his  head  than  those  of  Causality  and 
Wit.  Dr.  Patterson  states,  that  these  facts  are  drawn  from 
upwards  of  three  thousand  observations  ;  and  they  are  illustrated 
by  a  collection  of  Hindoo  skulls,  presented  by  him  to  the  Phreno- 
logical Society.  These  skulls,  f  twelve  in  number,  and  a  large 
addition  of  skulls  of  the  same  nation,  acquired  by  the  Society  from 
other  quarters,  have  long  been  exhibited  to  public  inspection.  Mr. 
Montgomery  has  called  in  question  the  justness  of  the  character 

*  At  the  end  of  this  section  a  table  of  measurements  is  given  of  all  the  skulls 
mentioned  in  it. 

t  I  strongly  recommend  to  the  reader  to  inspect  the  casts  of  national  skulls 
here  referred  to.  The  study  of  them  will  make  an  impression  infinitely  deeper 
than  any  description. 


568 


ON  THE   CEREBRAL 


assigned  to  the  Hindoos,  but  his  objections  have  been  ably 
answered  by  Dr.  Corden  Thomson. — See  Phren.  Journ.  vol.  vi. 
p.  244.  I  still  regard  the  statements  made  by  Dr.  Patterson  to 
be  correct. 

The  Society's  collection  contains  other  specimens  of  national 
developement  of  brain  equally  interesting.     The  CHARIB  skulls 
present  a  striking  appearance.     They  are  much  larger  than  the 
Charib.  Hindoo  heads,  and,  in  conformity  with  the 

principle,  that  size  indicates  power,  this  tribe 
is  the  most  remarkable,  among  all  the  native 
Americans,  for  force  of  character.  The 
Europeans  have  in  vain  attempted  to  subdue 
them ;  they  have  hunted  them  down  like 
wild  beasts,  and  nearly  extirpated  them,  but 
failed  in  every  attempt  to  enslave  them  in  a  mass,  as  the  Portuguese 
and  Spaniards  did  the  natives  of  Mexico  and  Brazil.  Farther, 
the  Charib  brain  is  prodigiously  developed  in  the  regions  of  Com- 
bativeness  and  Destructiveness,  in  which  the  Hindoo  head  is  defi- 
cient ;  and  the  former  race  is  as  ferocious  as  the  latter  is  mild  and 
inoffensive.  In  the  reflecting  organs,  the  Charib  is  the  most  defi- 
cient of  any  human  beings  whose  skulls  have  come  under  our  notice; 
and  he  is  described  as  rushing  with  unbridled  violence  on  present 
gratification,  blind  to  every  consequence,  and  incapable  of  tracing 
the  shortest  links  in  the  chain  of  causation.  If  the  ear  be  taken  as 
a  centre,  and  a  line  drawn  from  it  to  the  most  prominent  part  of 
the  forehead  of  the  Charib  skulls,  and  another  line  be  drawn  from 
the  same  point  to  the  most  prominent  part  of  the  occiput,  it  will 
be  found,  that  by  far  the  largest  quantity  of  the  brain  is  situated 
behind  the  ear;  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  organs  of  the  animal 
propensities  greatly  preponderate  over  those  of  the  intellectual 
faculties;  if  the  region  above  the  organ  of  Cautiousness  be  measur- 
ed, the  height  will  be  found  to  be  small,  compared  with  the  Euro- 
pean,— an  indication  that  the  organs  of  the  moral  sentiments  also 
are  deficient  in  size.  The  Society  possesses  casts  of  five  skulls  of 
Charibs,  all  of  which,  with  individual  differences,  present  a  general 


DEVELOPEMENT  OF  NATIONS.  569 

type  characteristic  of  the  whole.  In  St.  Thomas'  Hospital,  Lon- 
don, I  have  seen  the  original  of  one  of  these  casts: — the  whole 
were  procured  by  Dr.  Spurzheira  from  authentic  skulls,  and 
their  genuineness  may  be  relied  on.  Mr.  Sedgewick,  Secretary 
to  the  Phrenological  Society  of  London,  communicated  an  inter- 
esting Essay  to  the  Phrenological  Journal  (vol.  vi.  p.  377.)  on 
"the  artificial  compression  of  the  infant  head,  by  barbarous 
nations,"  in  which  he  clearly  establishes  that  the  Charib  and  other 
Indian  tribes  flatten  the  forehead  of  their  children  by  compression, 
some  of  them  by  means  of  a  small  bag  of  sand,  others  by  confine 
ment  of  the  infaiit  head  betvi^een  two  small  pieces  of  wood,  one 
placed  before  and  the  other  behind,  both  being  firmly  bound  togeth- 
er; and  others,  on  the  northwest  coast,  by  a  board  in  the  cradle 
brought  over  the  forehead,  and  tied  firmly  down  upon  the  head  of 
the  infant.  The  child  is  seldom  taken  from  the  cradle,  and  the 
compression  is  continued  till  it  is  able  to  walk.  With  the  cause  of 
the  flatness,  however,  I  am  not  at  present  interested,  the  only  point 
I  wish  to  establish  being  the  fact  of  concoimitance  between  the 
deficiency  of  organization  and  deficiency  of  mental  ability,  which  is 
so  certain  as  to  be  altogether  indisputable. 

The  NEW  HOLLAND  skiUl  rises  a 
little  above  the  Charib,  but  indicates  a 
lamentable  deficiency  in  the  regions  of  the 
intellectual  and  moral  organs.  The  organs 
of  Number,  Constructiveness,  Reflection, 

and  Ideality,  are  paiticularly  deficient,  while  those  of  the  animal 
propensities  are  fully  developed.  The  Society  possesses  casts  of 
two  skulls  of  natives  of  New  Holland,  and  Sir  George  S.  Mac- 
kenzie has  presented  to  it  the  actual  skulls  of  a  chief  and  a  female 
of  that  country;  and  the  whole  correspond,  in  a  striking  manner, 
in  their  general  features. 

If  these  skulls  were  put  into  the  hands  of  a  phrenologist  to  state 
the  dispositions  which  they  indicate,  he  would  say  that  there  ought 
to   be    considerable  energy  and  determination,  but  extreme  igno- 
rance,  rudeness,   and    grovelling   lowness    of  character.       Every 
72 


570  ON  THE  CEREBRAL 

talent  necessary  for  architecture,  and  the  constructive  arts  in 
general,  is  defective,  while  Ideality  i^  so  small,  that  sentiments  of 
refinement  or  elegance  will  scarcely  be  at  all  experienced.  The 
most  unaccustomed  eye  will  perceive  how  far  this  skull  and  that  of 
the  Charib  fall  short  of  the  European  in  the  organs  of  Reflection, 
Ideality,  and  Constructiveness. 

The  following  accomit  of  the  actual  condition  of  the  natives  of 
New  Holland,  is  given  in  Smellie's  Philosophy  of  Natural  Histo- 
ry:— "  It  would  appear  that  they  pull  out  the  two  fore-teeth  of  the 
upper  jaw ;  for  in  neither  sex,  nor  at  any  particular  period  of  life, 
are  these  teeth  to  be  seen.*  They  are  beardless;  their  visage  is 
long,  without  exhibiting  a  single  agreeable  feature  ;  their  hair  is 
black,  short,  and  crisped;  and  their  skin  is  equally  black  as  that  of 
the  Guinea  Negroes.  Their  only  clothing  consists  of  a  piece  of  the 
bark  of  a  tree  tied  round  their  waist,  with  a  handful  of  long  herbs 
placed  in  the  middle.  They  erect  no  houses ;  and,  without  any 
covering,  they  sleep  on  the  ground.  Men,  women,  and  children, 
associate  promiscuously  to  the  number  of  20  or  30.  A  small  fish, 
which  they  catch  in  reservoirs  made  with  stones  in  arms  of  the  sea, 
constitutes  their  chief  nourishment ;  and  with  bread,  and  every 
species  of  grain,  they  are  totally  unacquainted. "  f  I  select  this 
description  on  account  of  its  brevity. — Smellie  refers  to  Dampier 
as  his   authority. 

Captain  Cook  was  the  first  who  explored  the  eastern  coast  of 
New  Holland,  of  the  natives  of  which  he  gives  the  following 
account:  "  They  appeared  to  have  no  fixed  habitations;  for  we  saw 
nothing  like  a  town  or  a  village  in  the  whole  country.  Their 
houses,  if  houses  they  may  be  called,  seem  to  be  formed  with  less 
art  and  industry  than  any  we  had  seen,  except  the  wretched  hovels 
at  Terra  del  Fuego,  and  in  some  respects  they  are  inferior  even 
to  them.  At  Botany  Bay,  where  they  were  best,  they  were  just 
high  enough  for  a  man  to  sit  upright  in,  but  not  large  enough  for 
him  to  extend  himself  in  his  whole  length  in  any  direction  :  they 

*  These  teeth  are   wanting  in  the  chief's  skull  presented  by  Sir  George  S 
Mackenzie  to  the  Society 
f  Vol.  ii.  p.  84. 


dp:velopement  of  nations.  571 

are  built  with  pliable  rods,  about  as  thick  as  a  man's  finger,  in  the 
form  of  an  oven,  by  sticking  the  two  ends  into  the  ground,  and 
then  covering  them  with  palm-leaves  and  broad  pieces  of  bark: 
the  door  is  nothing  but  a  large  hole  at  one  end,  opposite  to  which 
the  fire  is  made.  Under  these  houses  or  sheds  they  sleep,  coiled 
up  with  their  heels  to  their  head;  and  in  this  position  one  of  them 
will  hold  three  or  four  persons." — "  The  only  furniture  belonging 
to  these  houses  that  fell  under  our  observation,  is  a  kind  of  oblong 
vessel  made  of  bark,"  which  was  supposed  to  be  used  as  a  bucket 
for  carrying  water.  Captain  Cook  adds,  that  "  both  sexes  go  stark 
naked  ;  "  that  he  saw  neither  nets  nor  vessels  in  which  water  might 
be  boiled.  "  The  canoes  of  New  Holland,"  he  continues,  "  are 
as  mean  and  rude  as  the  houses,"  being,  on  the  southern  parts 
of  the  coast,  "nothing  more  than  a  piece  of  bark,  about  twelve 
feet  long,  tied  together  at  the  ends,  and  kept  open  in  the  middle 
by  small  bows  of  wood;"  and  in  the  northern  parts,  merely  the 
hollow  trunk  of  a  tree.  These  were  the  inhabitants  of  a  different 
part  of  New  Holland  from  that  visited  by  Dampier.  Their  want 
of  curiosity  also  was  very  remarkable,  and  forms  a  good  contrast 
with  the  wonder  with  which  some  American  tribes  regarded  the 
Spaniards  and  their  ships  on  their  first  appearance  in  the  new 
world.  Captain  Cook  relates,  that  of  about  twenty  natives  who 
were  seen  on  the  shore,  not  far  from  Botany  Bay,  "  not  one  was 
observed  to  stop  and  look  towards  us,  but  they  trudged  along,  to 
all  appearance  without  the  least  emotion  of  curiosity  or  surprise, 
though  it  is  impossible  they  should  not  have  seen  the  ship  by  a 
casual  glance,  as  they  walked  along  the  shore;  and  though  she 
must,  with  respect  to  every  other  object  they  had  yet  seen,  have 
been  little  less  stupendous  and  unaccountable  than  a  floating  moun- 
tain, with  all  its  woods,  would  have  been  to  us."  * 

In  Malthus's  Essay  on  Population, f  will  be  found  a  character 
of  the  New  Hollanders,  founded  on  Cook's  Narrative  and  on 
Collin's  "  Account  of  New  South  Wales,"  coinciding  in  all  im- 
portant particulars  with  the  foregoing. 

*  See  Cook's  First  Voyage,  b.  ii.  ch.  ii.  and  vi. 
t  Book  i.  chap.  3. 


572 


ON  THE   CEREBRAL 


The  NEW  ZEALANDER  rises  above  the  new  Hollander. 
The  size  of  the  brain  is  pretty  nearly  the 
sanie  as  that  of  the  European,  but  the  great 
predominance  of  size  is  in  the  region  of  the 
propensities.  The  anterior  lobe  is  larger 
than  in  the  New  Hollander,  but  less  than 
in  the  European,  while  the  coronal  region 
above  Cautiousness  is  broad,  but  extremely 
shallow.  The  character  which  this  head  indicates  is  one  of  con- 
siderable energy,  cruel,  cunning,  cautious,  vain,  and  decidedly  defi- 
cient in  Benevolence,  Veneration,  and  Conscientiousness.  Mr. 
Earle  describes  them  as  active,  shrewd  and  intelligent.  They 
toil  by  hundreds  in  their  forests,  hewing  wood  for  the  European 
dock-yards  established  on  their  coast.  They  cultivate  potatoes 
and  Indian  coin,  imitate  the  houses  built  by  the  English,  decorate 
the  interiors  of  them  with  paintings  and  carvings  not  inferior  to 
what  i?  found  among  some  of  the  older  labors  of  the  Egyptians. 
The  chiefs  do  not  consider  labor  disgraceful.  They  are  exceed- 
ingly handsome.  They  murdered  their  female  infants  in  great 
numbers  until  they  discovered  that  Europeans  prized  their  young 
women.  They  roast  and  eat  not  only  their  enemies,  but  occasion- 
ally one  of  themselves.  Mr.  Earle  saw  a  female  slave  killed  for 
running  away,  roasted  and  eaten. — "  Nine  Months'  Residence  in 
New  Zealand  in  1827,"  p.  10.  243. 

The  skull  of  a  NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIAN  is  high  from 
the  ear  upward,  and  short  from  the  front  to  the  back.  The  fore- 
head is  not  largely  developed,  while  Firm- 
ness, Secretiveness,  and  Cautiousness,  are 
very  prominently  enlarged  ;  as  is  also  De- 
structiveness.  Adhesiveness  and  Concen- 
trativeness,  especially  the  latter,  are  small. 
The  Society  possesses  only  two  casts  of 
skulls  of  this  tribe,  and  their  general  form 
and  appearance  are  alike.  It  is  impossible  to  draw  any  safe 
inference  from  so  limited  a  collection,  yet  it  may  be  worth  while 
to  notice    their    character,  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  travellers 


^mx^ 


DEVELOPEMENT  OF   NATIONS.  573 

to  attend  to  their  cerebral  developement  in  their  future  descrip- 
tions. 

"  To  flee  from  an  adversary  that  is  on  his  guard,  and  to  avoid 
a  contest  where  he  cannot  contend  without  risk  to  his  own  person, 
and  consequently  to  his  community,  is  the  point  of  honor  with  the 
American.  The  odds  of  ten  to  one  are  necessary  to  warrant  an 
attack  on  a  person  who  is  armed  and  prepared  to  resist,  and  even 
then,  each  is  afraid  of  being  the  first  to  advance.  The  great  object 
of  the  most  renowed  warrior  is,  by  every  art  of  cunning  and  deceit, 
by  every  mode  of  stratagem  and  surprise  that  his  invention  can 
suggest,  to  weaken  and  destroy  the  tribes  of  his  enemies  with  the 
least  possible  loss  to  his  own.  To  meet  an  enemy  on  equal  terms 
is  regarded  as  extreme  folly.  To  fall  in  battle,  instead  of  being 
reckoned  an  honorable  death,  is  a  misfortune  which  subjects  the 
memory  of  the  warrior  to  the  imputation  of  rashness  and  imprudence. 
But  to  lie  in  wait  day  after  day,  till  he  can  rush  upon  his  prey,  when 
most  secure  and  least  able  to  resist  him  ;  to  steal  in  the  dead  of 
night  upon  bis  enemies,  set  fire  to  their  huts,  and  massacre  the 
inhabitants,  as  they  flee  naked  and  defenceless  from  the  flames, 
are  deeds  of  glory,  which  will  be  of  deathless  memory  in  the 
breasts  of  his  grateful  countrymen."* 

To  this  description  it  may  be  added,  that  these  savages  possess 
insuperable  determination:  when  the  fate  of  war  has  placed  one  of 
them  in  the  power  of  his  enemies,  he  knows  that  the  most  dreadful 
tortures  await  him  ;  but  the  point  of  honor  then  is  to  set  the  malig- 
nity of  his  tormentors  at  defiance,  and  to  surpass  in  his  powers  of 
endurance  the  utmost  limits  of  their  barbarous  inflictions  of  pain. 
The  American  savage,  besides,  as  already  noticed,  has  rarely  been 
found  a  member  of  regular  society,  but  has  continued  a  wanderer 
since  the  sun  first  rose  upon  his  deserts  till  the  present  day. 
Even  contact  with  European  settlers,  surrounded  by  arts  and  en- 
lightened by  intelligence,  has  scarcely  communicated  one  spark  of 
energy  to  this  miserable  race.  When  Europe  has  been  conquered, 
the  victorious  and  the  vanquished  have  in  a  few  ages  amalgamated 
together,  been  blended  into  one,  and  have  formed  at  last  a  single 
*  Malthus  on  Pop.  B.  i.  ch.  iv. 


674  ON  THE   CEREBRAL 

and  united  people.  The  native  Americans  have,  on  the  contrary, 
uniformly  receded  before  the  Europeans  ;  and  even  in  those  states 
of  the  Union  in  which  their  privileges  are  equal  with  those  of  the 
whites,  they  rarely  rise  above  the  dignity  of  a  barber  or  a  shoeblack. 
The  exact  coincidence  betwixt  the  developement  of  these  skulls 
and  the  character  of  this  people  would  lead  us^to  suppose  that  they 
represent  the  national  shape.  The  general  size  is  greatly  inferior 
to  that  of  the  average  European  head;  indicating  inferiority  in  natu- 
ral mental  power.  The  combination  of  Destructiveness,  Secre- 
tiveness.  Cautiousness  and  Firmness  corresponds  remarkably  with 
their  timid,  cunning,  persevering  ferocity  ;  while  their  deficient 
sentiments,  Concentrativeness,  and  Adhesiveness,  would  account 
for  the  looseness  of  their  social  and  patriotic  relations.  A  similar 
description  of  the  American  Indians  is  given  by  Timothy  Flint,  in 
his  '  Recollections  of  Ten  Years'  Residence  and  Journeyings  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi.'  "  I  have  conversed,"  says  he,  "  with 
many  travellers  that  have  been  over  the  Stony  mountains  into  the 
great  missionary  settlements  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  These 
travellers,  and  some  of  them  were  professed  Catholics,  unite  in 
affirming  that  the  converts  will  escape  from  the  mission,  whenever 
it  is  in  their  power,  fly  into  their  native  deserts,  and  resume  at  once 
their  old  modes  of  life.  The  vast  empire  of  the  Jesuits  in  Paraguay 
has  all  passed  away,  and  we  are  told,  the  descendants  of  their  con- 
vert Indians  are  no  way  distinguished  from  the  other  savages.  It 
strikes  me  that  Christianity  is  the  religion  of  civilized  man,  that 
the  savages  must  first  be  civilized  ;  and  as  there  is  little  hope  that 
the  present  generation  of  Indians  can  be  well  civilized,  there  is  but 
little  more  that  they  will  be  Christianized." — p.  145. 

The  head  of  the  BRAZIL  INDIAN  bears 
some  resemblance  to  the  former.  The  defi- 
ciency in  Size  is  the  same,  indicating  natural 
inferiority  of  mind,  and  the  combination  of 
organs  is  similar,  only  Firmness  is  not  so 
great,  and  Concentrativeness,  rnd  Philopro- 
genitiveness  are  moderate.  The  dimensions 
are  annexed  in  the  Table. 


DEVELOPEMENT   OF   NATIONS.  575 

It  is  known  that  the  Jesuits  attempted  to  civilize  a  number  of 
these  tribes,  and  that,  by  humane  and  intelligent  treatment,  they 
acquired  a  great  moral  ascendency  over  them,  induced  them  to 
settle,  and  established  something  like  order  and  the  arts  of  social 
life  among  them.  If  their  brains  had  possessed  the  European 
developement,  we  should  have  been  led  to  expect  that  the  seeds 
of  improvement  sown,  and  fostered  for  years  by  a  protecting  hand, 
would  have  sprung  up,  flourished  vigorously,  and  produced  an  abun- 
dant harvest  of  permanent  civilization;  but  the  picture  is  precisely 
the  reverse. — "  It  must  be  admitted,"  (says  the  reviewer  of  Ros- 
ter's Travels  in  Brazil,)  "  that  Mr.  Koster's  representation  of  the 
Indians  is  by  no  means  favorable;  and  the  opinions  which  he  ex- 
presses are  of  the  more  weight,  because,  as  his  feelings  and  prin- 
ciples are  of  the  best  kind,  they  lead  him  always  to  judge  charitably, 
and  to  look  forward  with  Hope.  Infinitely  ameliorated  as  the 
condition  of  the  Indians  has  been,  theirs  is  still  no  very  desirable 
state  of  existence; — they  are  always  regarded  as  children,  and  not 
always  treated  as  they  were  by  the  Jesuits,  with  paternal  kindness. 
But  when  they  escape  they  show  little  capability  of  acting  for 
themselves,  and  an  evident  tendency  (as  if  instinctive)  to  return  to 
a  wandering  and  savage  life  ; — it  does  not  arise  from  any  feeling 
connected  with  the  love  of  their  ancestors,  or  a  tradition  of  their 
free  state;  they  do  not  appear  to  know  that  their  ancestors  had  been 
slaves,  much  less  would  any  knowledge  be  preserved  of  their  ante- 
rior state.  The  Indian  who  has  escaped  from  control  scarcely 
ever  plants  for  himself, — if  he  does  he  sells  the  growing  crop  for 
half  its  value,  and  removes  to  some  other  district;  fishing  and  hunt- 
ing are  his  favorite  pursuits,  and  he  is  never  stationary  for  any 
length  of  time,  unless  it  be  near  a  lake  or  a  rivulet."  The 
strangest  and  worst  part  of  their  character  is  their  want  of  natural 
affection, — an  old  charge  against  them,  which  Mr.  Koster's 
unexceptionable  testimony  confirms.  "  They  appear,"  he  says, 
*'  to  be  less  anxious  for  the  life  and  welfare  of  their  children,  than 
any  other  race  of  men  who  inhabit  that  country." 

These  observations  present  the  most  fertile  field  of  speculation 
to  the  phrenologists.     The  cast  of  the  Brazil  Indian  shows  a  defi- 


676  ON   THE   CEREBRAL 

ciency  in  size  compared  with  the  European;  and  hence  it  corres- 
ponds with  the  fact,  that  these  Indians  are  regarded  and  treated 
as  children,  that  they  are  destitute  of  foresight,  and  that  degree  of 
steadiness  of  purpose  which  pursues  a  remote  advantage  through 
numerous  intervening  obstacles.  An  Individual  is  treated  as  a 
child  in  the  general  case,  not  out  of  perversity  in  his  parents  or 
guardians,  but  because  his  inferiority  in  intellectual  power  is  felt 
both  by  him  and  them,  although  this  may  not  be  stated  in  so  many 
words  as  the  reason  of  his  being  subjected  to  guidance.  When 
strength  of  mind  appears,  we  are  constrained,  by  the  very  laws 
of  our  constitution,  to  treat  the  possessor  with  respect,  however 
infantine  in  bodily  stature,  or  limited  in  point  of  age.  Were  the 
Indians,  therefore,  equal  in  their  natural  energies  to  Europeans, 
they  would  soon,  by  dint  of  this  mental  power,  acquire  their  know- 
ledge and  accomplishments,  and  instead  of  being  their  slaves,  would 
become  their  rivals. 

These  Indians,  however,  have  derived  some  improvement  from 
education,  although  it  has  not  supplied  the  defect  of  native  energy. 
"  If  education  has  hitherto  done  little  in  implanting  good  qualities, 
it  has  done  much  in  eradicating  evil  ones.  They  were  among  the 
fiercest  and  most  revengeful  of  the  human  race  ;  they  are  now 
quiet  and  inoffensive,  rarely  committing  murder,  ( in  a  country 
where  murder  is  accounted  venial,  and  generally  obtains  impunity, 
if  not  applause;)  and  even  those  who  are  dishonest  confine  them- 
selves to  pilfering." 

Mr.  Koster  draws  the  following  comparison  between  the  Negro 
and  the  Brazil  Indian: — "The  Negro  character,"  says  he,  "is 
more  decided;  it  is  worse,  but  it  is  also  better.'' — "The  Indian 
seems  to  be  without  energy  or  exertion,  equally  incapable  of 
great  evil  or  of  great  good.  Rich  mulattoes  and  negroes  are  not 
uncommon ;  there  is  no  instance  of  a  wealthy  Indian,  nor  did 
he  ever  see  an  Indian  mechanic.  The  priesthood  is  open  to 
them,  but  to  little  purpose.  Mr.  Koster  heard  of  only  two 
Indians  who  were  ordained  as  priests,  and  both  died  of  excessive 
drinking." 


DEVELOPEMENT   OF   NATIONS.    ^  577 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  whether  the  native  Mexican 
brain  is  better  developed,  for  a  rude  form  of  society  existed  there 
before  the  European  conquest. 

The  skull  of  the  NEGRO  evidently  rises 
in  the  scale  of  developement  of  the  moral  and 
intellectual  organs  :  the  forehead  is  higher, 
and  the  organs  of  the  sentiments  bear  a 
larger  proportion  to  those  of  the  propen- 
sities, than  in  the  New  Hollander.  The 
organs  of  Philoprogenitiveness  and  Concen- 
trativeness  are  largely  developed ;  the  former  of  which  produces 
the  love  of  children,  and  the  latter  that  concentration  of  mind 
which  is  favorable  to  settled  and  sedentary  employments.  The 
organs  of  Veneration  and  Hope,  also,  are  considerable  in  size. 
The  greatest  deficiencies  lie  in  Conscientiousness,  Cautiousness, 
Ideality,  and  Reflection.  The  dimensions  of  this  skull  are  given 
in  the  table.  Timothy  Flint  says,  "  The  negro,  easily  excitable, 
in  the  highest  degree  susceptible  of  all  the  passions,  is  more 
especially  so  of  the  mind  and  gentle  affections.  To  the  Indian, 
stern,  silent,  moody,  ruminating  existence  seems  a  burden.  To 
the  Negro,  remove  only  pain  and  hunger,  it  is  naturally  a  state  of 
enjoyment.  As  soon  as  his  toils  are  for  a  moment  suspended  he 
sings,  he  seizes  his  fiddle,  he  dances." 

The  different  tribes  which  inhabit  Africa  present  very  different 
appearances  in  point  of  civilization  ;  but  none  of  them  have  made 
so  great  a  progress  as  the  European  nations.  I  have  been  inform- 
ed by  persons  who  have  been  long  resident  in  the  West  India 
Islands,  that  great  differences  are  observed  in  the  natural  talents 
of  the  Negroes,  according  to  the  provinces  from  which  they  have 
been  brought.  Some  parts  of  Africa  yield  persons  capable  of 
becoming  excellent  operative  mechanics;  others,  clerks  and  ac- 
countants; and  some  mere  laborers,  incapable  of  any  intellectual 
attainment.  It  would  be  extremely  interesting  to  learn  in  what 
respect  they  differ  in  the  forms  of  the  heads. 

Some    nations  of  Africa  greatly  surpass    others   in    energy  of 
73 


678  ON   THE   CEREBRAL 

character  and  mechanical  skill.  "  The  CafFres  are  entirely  black, 
but  bear  no  trace  of  the  Negro  features.  In  the  form  of  their  skull 
and  face  they  differ  little  from  the  most  perfect  Europeans."  This 
race  is  ingenious  in  several  arts  ;  but,  on  account  of  their  constant 
wars,  agriculture  is  in  a  depressed  state.  Although  their  coast  is 
covered  with  excellent  fish,  they  do  not  catch  them,  and  indeed 
have  no  boats  or  canoes.  Marriage  is  invariably  conducted  by 
sale.  The  Boshuans  are  represented  as  "gay,  gentle,  and  peace- 
able" in  their  manners;  yet  they  "  carry  on  war  as  fiercely  as 
all  other  barbarians. — Mr.  Campbell  having,  in  the  course  of  reli- 
gious instruction,  asked  one  of  them,  '  for  what  end  was  man 
made,'  the  answer  was,  'for  plundering  expeditions.'"*  Mr. 
Bowditch  gives  an  account  of  the  Ashantees,  by  which  it  appears 
that  they  display  great  activity  and  considerable  ingenuity  of  mind  ; 
but  that  they  are  debased  by  the  most  ferocious  dispositions  and 
the  grossest  superstition.  The  descriptions  given  by  a  variety  of 
travellers  of  Timbuctoo,  and  of  the  commerce  carried  on  upon  the 
Niger  by  the  natives  of  Africa,  if  they  can  be  at  all  depended  upon, 
also  indicate  considerable  scope  of  mind,  and  some  capacity  for 
the  social  state,  and  place  the  Africans  decidedly  above  the  native 
Americans;  all  these  facts  coincide  with  the  expectations  which  a 
phrenologist  would  form,  on  examining  their  different  skulls. 

One  feature  is  very  general  in  descriptions  of  the  African  tribes ; 
they  are  extremely  superstitious.  They  purchase  fetiches,  or 
charms,  at  a  high  price,  and  believe  them  to  be  sure  preservatives 
against  all  the  evils  of  life.  This  character  corresponds  with  the 
developement  which  we  observe  in  the  Negro  skulls  ;  for  they 
exhibit  much  Hope,  Veneration,  and  Wonder,  with  comparatively 
little  reflecting  power.  Their  defective  Causality  incapacitates 
them  for  tracing  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  and  their  great 
Veneration,  Hope,  and  Wonder,  render  them  prone  to  credulity, 
and  to  regard  with  profound  admiration  and  respect  any  object 
which  is  represented  as  possessing  supernatural  power. 

*  Leyden  and  Murray's  Historical  Account  of  Discoveries  and  Travels  in 
Africa,  vol.  ii.  pp.  332,  350. 


DEVELOFEMENT    OF    NATIONS.  579 

The  heads  of  the    SANDWICH    ISLANDERS   are   under 

rather  than  equal  to  the  average  size  of  the 
European  head;  and  the  race  certainly  does 
not  indicate  so  high  a  natural  character  as 
the  European,  although  closely  approaching 
to  it.  The  Phrenological  Society  possesses 
five  skulls  of  the  Sandwich  Islanders.  They 
are  characterized  by  the  long  form  of  the 
European — the  Caucasian  variety  of  Blumenbach;  and  by  the 
greater  proportion  being  before  than  behind  the  external  orifice  of 
the  ear,  indicating  the  predominance  of  intellectual  over  animal 
endowment.  This  is  remarkable  particularly  in  two  of  the  skulls. 
The  coronal  region  is  broad  and  tolerably  well  developed,  but  not 
equal  in  height  above  Cautiousness  and  Causality  to  the  European. 
The  anterior  lobe,  manifesting  the  intellect,  is  pretty  well  devel- 
oped, being  decidedly  larger  than  that  of  the  Negro,  American 
Indians,  and  New  Hollanders.  All  of  them  have  a  considerable 
portion  of  Eventuality,  a  faculty  which  Dr.  Gall  long  ago  denom- 
inated Educability,  and  which  must  greatly  expedite  civilization. 
Three  of  the  skulls  are  decidedly  ancient,  and  having  been  ob- 
tained from  the  older  Morals  or  burial-places,  probably  afford 
correct  specimens  of  the  heads  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants,  before 
the  islands  were  discovered  by  Captain  Cook.  This  navigator 
found  this  race  very  superior  to  most  of  the  other  savage  tribes 
which  he  visited;  and  the  advance  which  they  have  since  made 
towards  civilization,  is  evinced  by  their  respectful  reception  of 
the  bodies  of  their  king  and  queen,  who  had  died  in  London,  the 
appearance  of  the  chiefs  in  English  mourning,  the  procession  to 
the  church,  and  the  high  improvement  conspicuous  in  the  whole 
community, — circumstances  which  have  been  noticed  by  the 
public  papers,  and  are  given  more  in  detail  in  a  narrative  of  the 
voyage  of  the  Blonde  Frigate  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  published 
in  the  year  1826.* 

*  A  more  particular  account  of  the  Sandwich  Islanders  will  be  found  in  the 
Phrenological  Journal,  vol.  iii.  p.  421. 


580  ON    THE   CEREBRAL 

The  brains  of  the  different  EUROPEAN  NATIONS  differ 
considerably  from  each  other,  but  a  common  type  characterizes 
them  all,  and  distinguishes  them  from  those  now  described.     They 

are  decidedly  larger  than  the  Hindoo,  Amer- 
Swiss  Skull.  •  t    i  i    t»t 

ican  Indian,  and  Negro  heads;  and  this  in- 
dicates superior  force  of  mental  character. 
The  portion  before  the  ear,  connected  with 
the  intellectual  faculties,  and  the  coronal 
region,  or  the  organs  of  the  moral  senti- 
ments, are  more  amply  developed  in  pro- 
portion to  the  base  and  posterior  inferior  parts  of  the  brain,  the 
organs  of  the  animal  propensities.  In  short,  they  indicate  a  higher 
natural  power  of  reflection,  and  a  greater  natural  tendency  to  jus- 
tice, benevolence,  veneration,  and  refinement,  than  the  others. 
The  organs  in  which  the  European  brain  in  an  especial  degree 
excels,  are,  Ideality,  Conscientiousness,  Causality,  and  Wit.  The 
organs  of  these  faculties  are  almost  invariably  small  in  barbarous 
and  savage  tribes.  The  European  skull  belongs  to  the  Caucasian 
variety  of  Blumenbach,  which  he  considers  as  the  most  beautiful 
and  perfect  of  all  the  national  crania  in  the  world;  and  in  this  point 
he  and  the  phrenologists  agree.  The  cut  represents  a  Swiss  skull, 
which  is  not  large,  but  very  favorably  developed  in  the  region  of 
the  moral  sentiments.  If  the  space  above  the  asterisks.  Cautious- 
ness and  Causality,  be  compared  with  the  same  region  in  the  New 
Zealander  or  New  Hollander,  a  very  marked  inferiority  in  the 
latter  will  be  observed. 

The  ANCIENT  EGYPTIANS  appeal-,  from  the  stupendous 
monuments  of  art  and  science  left  behind  them,  to  have  been  a 
highly  intelligent  and  civilized  people  :  and  it  is  a  striking  fact,  that 
the  skulls  of  ancient  mummies  are  found  almost  invariably  to  belong 
to  the  same  class  as  those  of  modern  Europeans.  In  the  Society's 
collection,  there  are  two  skulls  of  mummies,  five  casts  of  the 
skulls  of  mummies,  and  I  have  seen  or  obtained  accurate  descrip- 
tions of  the  skulls  of  half  a  dozen  more ; — full  size,  large  devel- 
opement  before  the  ear,  and  broad  coronal  region,  characterize 
them  all ;  indicating  the  elements  of  a  superior  character. 


DEVELOPEMENT    OF    NATIONS. 


581 


The  Society  possesses  also  several  skulls  of  ANCIENT 
GREEKS.  They  are  large,  and  exhibit  a 
favorable  developement  of  the  coronal  region 
and  intellect,  combined  with  large  organs  of 
the  propensities.  In  particular,  the  organs 
of  Constructiveness  and  Ideality  are  large, 
and  in  this  respect,  they  form  as  striking  a 
,  contrast  to  the  skulls  of  the  New  Hollanders, 
as  the  hovels  of  the  latter  do  to  the  temples  and  works  of  art  of  the 
Greeks. 

These  facts  appear  to  indicate,  that  when  a  nation  is  independ- 
ent, and  left  at  liberty  to  follow  the  bent  of  their  own  judgment 
and  dispositions,  their  institutions  spring  from  the  peculiai-  mental 
constitution  which  they  have  received  from  nature,  and  that  this 
constitution  is  in  exact  accordance  with  the  developement  of  their 
brains.  Climate  and  other  external  causes  modify  to  some  extent 
the  effects  of  natural  endowment,  but  the  distinguishing  features  of 
each  people  seem  to  bear  a  more  direct  and  uniform  relation  to  the 
size  and  form  of  their  brain,  than  to  those  adventitious  circum- 
stances. Where  a  people  is  subjugated  by  a  foreign  power,  as 
the  Greeks  by  the  Turks,  and  the  Italians  by  the  Austrians,  the 
national  character  has  no  adequate  opportunity  of  unfolding  Its 
peculiarities  ;  and  hence,  if  this  circumstance  is  overlooked,  the 
same  race  may  seem  to  present  different  characteristics  at  different 
periods  of  their  history.  The  modern  Greeks,  it  was  lately  said, 
no  more  resemble  their  ancestors  than  the  Hindoos  the  Europeans; 
and  this  was  urged  as  an  insuperable  objection  against  Phrenology. 
Now,  however,  when  the  Turkish  yoke  is  loosened  so  as  to  allow 
the  native  qualities  to  shoot,  we  see  the  same  force  of  character, 
the  same  deliberate  and  determined  heroism,  the  same  capacity  for 
stratagem  in  war,  with  all  the  fickleness  and  proneness  to  dissen- 
sion, the  same  ascendency  of  passion  which  distinguished  the 
Greeks  in  the  days  of  Pericles,  reappearing  in  their  descendants. 
Many  millions  of  Hindoos,  Africans,  and  American  Indians,  have 
been  for  ages  independent  of  a  foreign  yoke,  and  never  displayed 
qualities  such  as  those  exhibited  by  independent  Europeans. 


582  ON    THE   CEREBRAL 

The  effects  of  temperament  are  distinguishable  in  national  skulls. 
The  grain  of  the  New  Holland  skulls  is  extremely  rough  and 
coarse ;  that  of  the  Hindoos,  fine,  smooth,  and  compact,  more 
closely  resembling  ivory ;  the  Swiss  skulls  are  open  and  soft  in 
the  grain,  while  the  Greek  are  closer  and  finer.  There  would  be 
a  corresponding  quality  of  brain  in  the  individuals,  which  would 
influence  the  mental  character. 

The  Phrenological  Society  have  more  specimens  of  national 
skulls  than  are  here  noticed.  They  afford  interesting  materials  for 
philosophical  reflection,  but  the  great  length  to  which  this  work  has 
extended,  compels  me  to  omit  the  notice  of  them.     (See  p.  5S3.) 

These  measurements  do  not  represent  the  size  of  any  organs  in 
particular,  for  the  reasons  stated  on  p.  90.  They  are  intended  to 
indicate  whether  the  skulls  are  large  or  small.  They  do  not, 
however,  accomplish  this  object  successfully,  in  consequence  of  the 
impossibility  of  measuring  irregular  spheres  by  diameters.  They 
are  therefore  indications  merely  of  the  length  of  the  particular  lines 
stated  in  the  difl^erent  skulls  ;  from  which  a  rough  estimate  of  the 
relative  dimensions  of  the  skulls  may  be  formed.  A  scientific 
mode  of  measurement  is  much  wanted.  These  measurements  are 
taken  from  individual  skulls,  and  cannot  be  given  as  an  exact  state- 
ment of  the  average  of  the  difl^erent  national  crania.  They  are, 
however,  an  approximation  to  truth,  and  are  sufficient  to  show  the 
interest  of  the  investigation.  The  collection  is  still  too  limited  to 
enable  us  to  draw  average  results.  The  Negro  skull  is  a  very 
favorable  specimen,  and  the  Swiss  is  perhaps  under  the  average. 

The  real  characters  of  foreign  nations  will  never  be  philosophi- 
cally delineated,  until  travellers  shall  describe  their  temperaments, 
and  the  size  and  combinations  of  their  brains.  Blumenbach's 
extensive  work  on  National  Crania  is  destitute  of  moral  interest, 
owing  to  his  omission  of  all  notice  of  the  characters  of  the  nations 
whose  heads  he  represents.  Donations  of  national  skulls  are  highly 
esteemed  by  the  Phrenological  Society. 


DEVELOPEMENT  OF   NATIONS 


583 


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(584) 


OBJECTIONS  TO  PHRENOLOGY  CONSIDERED. 

Having  now  considered  the  elements  of  Phrenology,  I  shall 
notice  briefly  some  objections  which  have  been  urged  against  it. 
These  shall  be  given,  as  nearly  as  possible,  in  the  words  of  actual 
opponents,  and  an  answer  shall  be  subjoined. 

Objection. — The  idea  of  ascribing  different  faculties  to  different 
parts  of  the  brain  is  not  new.  Many  authors  did  so  before  Dr. 
Gall ;  but  their  systems  have  fallen  into  disrepute,  which  proves 
that  the  doctrine  is  not  true. 

Answer. — Dr.  Gall  himself  has  called  the  attention  of  philoso- 
phers to  the  fact,  that  the  idea  alluded  to  is  very  ancient ;  he  has 
given  a  history  of  previous  opinions  concerning  the  functions  of  the 
brain ;  and  shown,  that  different  functions  have  been  attributed  to 
different  parts  of  it  for  centuries  past,  while  he  has  assigned  reasons 
for  these  ideas  falling  into  oblivion.  Dr.  Spurzheim  in  his  works 
does  the  same  ;  and,  in  the  Phrenological  Journal,  No.  vii.  Art. 
8,  "An  Historical  Notice  of  early  Opinions  concerning  the  brain" 
is  given,  accompanied  with  a  plate' of  the  head,  showing  it  marked 
out  into  different  organs  in  1562:  it  is  copied  on  p.  20  of  this 
work.  The  difference,  however,  between  the  mode  of  proceeding 
of  prior  authors  and  that  of  Dr.  Gall,  is  so  great,  that  different 
results  are  accounted  for.  Former  speculators  assigned  to  certain 
mental  faculties  local-  situations  in  the  brain,  on  account  of  the 
supposed  aptitude  of  the  place  to  the  faculty.  Common  sense,  for 
example,  was  placed  in  the  forehead,  because  it  was  near  the  eyes 
and  nose ;  while  memory  was  lodged  in  the  cerebellum,  because  it 
lay  like  a  store-house  behind,  to  receive  and  accommodate  all  kinds 
of  knowledge,  till  required  to  be  brought  forth  for  use.  This  was 
not  philosophy.  It  was  the  human  imagination  constructing  man, 
instead  of  the  intellect  observing  how  the  Creator  had  constituted 
him.  Dr.  Gall  acted  on  different  principles.  He  did  not  assume 
any  mental  faculties,  and  neither   did  he  assign  them  habitations 


OBJECTIONS   TO   PHRENOLOGY    CONSIDERED.  685 

in  the  brain  according  to  his  own  fancy.  On  the  contrary,  he 
observed,  first,  the  manifestations  of  mental  talents  and  dispositions  ; 
and,  secondly,  The  form  of  brain  which  accompanied  each  of 
these  when  strong  and  weak.  He  simply  reported  what  Nature 
had  done.  There  is  the  same  difference  between  his  method  of 
proceeding  and  that  of  prior  authors,  as  between  that  of  Des 
Cartes  and  Newton ;  and  hence  it  is  equally  intelligible,  why  he 
should  be  successful  in  discovering  truth,  while  they  invented  only 
ingenious  errors. 

Objection. — It  is  ridiculous  to  suppose  that  the  mind  has  thirty- 
five  faculties  ;  why  not  fifty-five?  or  an  hundred  and  five.''  Be- 
sides, the  phrenologists  have  been  continually  altering  the  number. 

Answer. — As  well  may  it  be  said  to  be  absurd,  that  we  should 
possess  exactly  five  senses  ;  why  not  ten,  or  fifteen?  The  phren- 
ologists deny  all  responsibility  for  the  number  of  the  faculties. 
They  admit  neither  fewer,  nor  a  greater  number,  than  they  find 
manifested  in  nature.  Besides,  authors  on  mental  philosophy  admit 
as  many,  and  some  more,  faculties  than  the  plirenologists.  Lord 
Karnes,  for  example,  admits  twenty  of  the  phrenological  faculties  ; 
while  Mr.  Dugald  Stewart,  in  his  System,  ascribes  more  faculties 
to  the  mind  than  are  enumerated  in  the  phrenological  works.*  The 
increase  of  the  number  of  the  phrenological  faculties  is  easily  ac- 
counted for.  It  has  invariably  been  stated,  that  the  functions  of 
certain  portions  of  the  brain  remain  to  be  discovered  ;  and,  in 
proportion  as  this  discovery  proceeds,  the  hst  of  mental  powers 
will  necessarily  be  augmented. 

Objection.  —  "On  opening  the  skull,  and  examining  the  brain 
towards  the  surface,  where  the  organs  are  said  to  be  situated,  it 
seems  to  require  no  small  share  of  creative  fancy,  to  see  any  thing 
more  than  a  number  of  almost  similai*  convolutions,  all  composed 
of  cineritious  and  medullary  substance,  very  nearly  in  the  same 
proportions,  and  all  exhibiting  as  httle  difference  in  their  form  and 
structure,  as  the  convolutions  of  the  intestine."     "  No  phrenologist 

*  See  answer  to  Mr.  Jeffrey  in  Phren.  Jour.  vol.  iv.  p.  30. 
74 


586  OBJECTIONS  TO 

has  ever  yet  observed  the  supposed  lines  of  distinction  between 
them  ;  and  no  phrenologist,  therefore,  has  ventured,  in  the  course 
of  his  dissections,  to  divide  a  hemisphere  of  the  brain  accurately 
into  any  such  number  of  well  marked  and  specific  organs." 

This  objection  was  urged  by  the  late  Dr.  John  Barclay,  and  is 
answered  at  full  length  by  Dr.  A.  Combe,  in  the  Phrenological 
Transactions.  A  summary  only  of  his  observations  can  be  intro- 
duced here.  First,  Although  the  objection  were  literally  true,  it 
is  not  relevant ;  because  it  is  an  admitted  principle  of  physiology, 
that  the  form  and  structure  of  an  organ  are  not  sufficient  to  convey 
an  idea  of  its  functions  ;  no  man  who  saw  an  eye,  an  eai',  or  a  nos- 
tril, for  the  first  time  (supposing  it  were  possible  for  a  man  to  be 
so  situated),  could,  merely  by  looking  at  it,  infer  its  uses.  The 
most  expert  anatomist  had  looked  frequently  and  long  upon  a  bun- 
dle of  nervous  fibres,  enclosed  in  a  common  sheath,  without  discov- 
ering that  one  set  of  them  was  the  organ  of  voluntary  motion,  and 
another  that  of  feeling  ;  on  the  contrary,  from  their  similarity  of 
appearance,  these  nerves  had,  for  ages,  been  regarded  as  possess- 
ing similar  functions.  Nevertheless,  Mr.  C.  Bell  and  Magendie 
have  demonstrated,  by  experiment,  that  they  possess  the  distinct 
functions  of  feeling  and  motion.  Mr.  Bell  has,  more  recently, 
proved,  that  another  nerve,  the  use  of  which  nobody  had  con- 
jectured from  its  structure,  serves  to  convey  to  the  brain  intimation 
of  the  state  of  the  muscles,  so  that  there  is  now  evidence  of  the 
muscular  system  being  supplied  Avith  three  distinct  sets  of  nerves, 
having  separate  functions,  which  was  never  conjectured  from 
appearances.  These  discoveries  are  discussed  on  p.  51.  It  may 
therefore  competently  be  proved,  by  observation,  that  different 
parts  of  the  brain  have  distinct  functions,  although  it  were  true  that 
no  difference  of  structure  could  be  perceived. 

But,  2dly,  it  is  not  the  fact  that  difference  of  appearance  is  not 
discoverable.  It  is  easy  to  distinguish  the  anterior,  the  middle, 
and  posterior  lobes  of  the  human  brain  from  each  other  ;  and,  were 
they  shown  separately  to  a  skilful  phrenological  anatomist,  he  would 
never  take  one  for  the  other.  The  mental  manifestations  are  so 
different,  according  as  one  or  other  of  these  lobes  predominate  in 


PHRENOLOGY  CONSIDERED.  587 

size,  that  there  is  even  in  this  case  ample  room  for  establishing  the 
fundamental  proposition,  that  different  faculties  are  connected  with 
different  parts  of  the  brain.  Farther,  many  of  the  organs  differ  so 
decidedly  in  appearance,  that  they  could  be  pointed  out  by  it  alone. 
Dr.  Spurzheim  says,  that  he  "  should  never  confound  the  organ  of 
Jlmativeness  with  that  of  Philoprogenitiveness ;  or  Philoprogeni- 
tiveness  with  that  of  Secretiveness ;  or  the  organ  of  the  desire  to 
acquire  with  that  of  Benevolence  or  Veneration  ;"  and,  after  having 
seen  Dr.  Spurzheim's  dissections  of  the  brain,  I  bear  my  humble 
testimony  to  the  truth  of  this  assertion.  Even  an  ordinary  observ- 
er, who  takes  a  few  good  casts  of  the  brain  in  his  hand,  may  satisfy 
himself  that  the  anterior  lobe,  for  example,  uniformly  presents 
convolutions  different  in  appearance,  direction,  and  size  from  those 
of  the  middle  lobe;  while  the  latter,  towards  the  coronal  surface, 
uniformly  presents  convolutions  differing  in  appearance  and  direc- 
tion from  those  of  the  posterior  lobe  ;  and,  above  all,  the  cere- 
bellum, or  organ  of  Jlmativeness^  is  not  only  widely  different  in 
structure,  but  is  separated  by  a  strong  membrane  from  all  other 
organs,  and  can  never  be  mistaken  for  any  of  them.  Difference 
of  appearance,  therefore,  being  absolutely  demonstrable,  there  is 
much  better  reason  on  the  side  of  the  phrenologists  for  presuming 
difference  of  function,  than  on  that  of  the  opponents  for  maintain- 
ing unity. 

^dly^  It  IS  admitted  that  the  organs  are  not  perceived  to  be 
separated  ir  the  brain  by  strong  lines  of  demarcation;  but  those 
persons  who  have  either  seen  Dr.  Spurzheim  dissect  the  brain,  or 
have  attended  minutely  to  its  impressions  on  the  skull,  will  support 
me  in  testifying,  that  the  forms  of  the  organs  are  distinguishable, 
and  that  the  mapping  out  is  founded  in  nature.  To  bring  this  to 
the  test,  the  student  has  only  to  observe  the  appearance  of  any 
particular  organ  in  a  state  of  large  developement,  the  surrounding 
organs  being  small;  the/orw  will  then  be  distinctly  visible.  This 
subject  is  discussed  at  more  length  on  p.  86. 

Objection. — All  parts  of  the  brain  have  been  injured  or  destroyed 
without  the  mental  faculties  being  affected. 


588  OBJECTIONS  TO 

Answer. — The  assertion  is  denied  :  There  is  no  philosophical 
evidence  for  it.  The  subject  is  discussed  at  length  by  Dr.  A. 
Combe,  in  the  Phrenological  Transactions,  and  in  a  subsequent 
part  of  this  work.  The  objection  is  now  generally  abandoned  by 
persons  who  have  considered  the  cases,  with  the  answers  to  them. 

Objection. — The  world  has  gone  on  well  enough  with  the 
philosophy  of  mind  it  already  possesses,  which,  besides,  is  conse- 
crated by  great  and  venerable  names,  while  Phrenology  has  neither 
symmetry  of  structure,  beauty  of  arrangement,  nor  the  suffrages  of 
the  learned  to  recommend  it.  Its  votaries  are  all  third-rate  men — 
persons  without  scientific  or  philosophical  reputations.  They  are 
not  entided  therefore,  to  challenge  the  regard  of  those  who  have 
higher  studies  to  occupy  their  attention.  They  complain  that  only 
ridicule  and  abuse  are  directed  against  them,  and  that  no  one 
ventures  to  challenge  their  principles  or  refute  their  facts  ;  but  they 
do  not  yet  stand  high  enough  in  public  esteem  to  give  them  a  right 
to  expect  any  other  treatment. 

Answer. — The  world  has  not  gone  on  well  enough  without 
Phrenology.  A  fierce  and  universal  conflict  of  opinions  on  many 
important  subjects  connected  with  mind  is  maintained,  which  can- 
not be  satisfactorily  setded  till  the  true  philosophy  of  man  shall  be 
discovered  and  understood,  EducaUon  and  social  institutions  also 
rest  in  many  respects,  on  imperfect  foundations,  in  consequence  of 
this  ignorance  ;  and  at  the  present  moment  mankind  require  nothing 
more  urgently  than  a  sound,  practical,  and  raUonal  system  of  men- 
tal philosophy  :  moreover  Phrenology  being  a  new  science,  it 
follows  that  men  who  possess  reputation  in  physiology  or  mental 
philosophy  would  appear  to  lose  rather  than  gain  renown,  were 
they  to  confess  their  present  ignorance  of  the  functions  of  the  brain 
and  the  philosophy  of  mind,  which  is  a  necessary  prelude  to  their 
adoption  of  Phrenology  ;  and  the  subject  does  not  He  directly  in 
the  department  of  other  scientific  men.  In  this  manner  it  hap- 
pens, oddly  enough,  that  those  who  are  most  directly  called  upon 
by  their  situation  to  examine  the  science,  are  precisely  those  to 
whom  its  triumph  would  prove  most  humiliating.     Locke  humor- 


HRENOLOGY  CONSIDERED.  589 

ously  observes  on  a  similar  occasion,  "  Would  it  not  be  an  insuf- 
ferable thing  for  a  learned  professor,  and  that  which  his  scarlet 
would  blush  at,  to  have  his  authority  of  forty  years  standing, 
wrought  out  of  hard  rock,  Greek  and  Latin,  with  no  small  expense 
of  time  and  candle,  and  confirmed  by  general  tradition,  and  a 
reverend  beard,  in  an  instant  overturned  by  an  upstart  novelist? 
Can  any  one  expect  that  he  should  be  made  to  confess,  that  what 
he  taught  his  scholars  thirty  years  ago  was  all  error  and  mistake, 
and  that  he  sold  them  hard  words  at  a  very  dear  rate  ?  What 
probabilities,  I  say,  are  sufficient  to  prevail  in  such  a  case  ?  And 
who  ever,  by  the  most  cogent  arguments,  will  be  prevailed  with  to 
disrobe  himself  at  once  of  all  his  old  opinions  and  pretences  to 
knowledge  and  learning,  which  with  hard  study  he  hath  all  his  time 
been  laboring  for,  and  turn  himself  out  stark-naked  in  quest  of 
fresh  notions  ?  All  the  arguments  that  can  be  used  will  be  as  little 
able  to  prevail  as  the  wind  did  with  the  traveller  to  part  with  his 
cloak,  which  he  held  only  the  faster."*  Human  nature  is  the  same 
now  as  in  the  days  of  Locke ;  and  it  is  extremely  seldom  that  new 
and  important  philosophical  discoveries  are  embraced  by  men  whose 
minds  have  long  been  occupied  by  established  notions.  The  fol- 
lowing letter  from  Dr.  Joseph  Black,  the  late  celebrated  professor 
of  Chemistry  at  Edinburgh,  to  Lavoisier,  not  only  shows  how  difficult 
it  is  to  embrace  new  fundamental  doctrines,  but  also  holds  out  a  les- 
son of  candor  which  some  of  the  opponents  of  Phrenology  would 
not  be  disgraced  by  imitating: — "For  thirty  years,"  says  Dr. 
Black,  "I  taught  the  doctrines  of  phlogiston;  ten  years  of  which 
time  I  combated  your  discoveries.  That  barrier  to  every  improve- 
ment, prejudice,  required  ten  whole  years — a  second  siege  of  Troy 
—  before  it  could  be  subdued.  I  now  see,  clear  as  the  noon-day, 
the  truth  of  the  new  system.  I  have  begun  to  teach  it ;  and  the 
young  students,  having  no  prejudices  to  overcome,  are  every  one 
of  them  delighted  with  its  simplicity  and  truth.  Your  new  terms 
are  already  familiar  to  them."t 

There   is,    however,  another  answer  to  the  present   objection. 

*Bookiv.  c.  20,  sect.  11. 

t  Edge  worth  on  Professional  Education,  p.  235. 


590  OBJECTIONS  TO 

Some  individuals  are  born  princes,  dukes,  or  even  field-marshals  ; 
but  I  am  not  aware  that  it  has  yet  been  announced,  that  any  lady 
was  delivered  of  a  child  of  genius,  or  an  infant  of  established  repu- 
tation. These  titles  must  be  gained  by  the  display  of  qualities 
which  merit  them  ;  but  if  an  individual  quit  the  beaten  track  pur- 
sued by  the  philosophers  of  the  day,  and  introduce  any  discovery, 
although  equally  stupendous  and  new,  his  reputation  is  necessarily 
involved  in  its  merits.  Harvey  was  not  a  great  man  before  he 
discovered  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  but  became  such  in  con- 
sequence of  having  done  so.  What  was  Shakspeare  before  the 
magnificence  of  his  genius  was  justly  appreciated  .''  The  author  of 
Kenilworth  represents  him  attending  as  an  humble  and  compara- 
tively obscure  suitor  at  the  court  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  receiv- 
ing a  mark  of  favor  in  an  "  Ah !  Will  Shakspeare,  are  you  there  .'"' 
And  he  most  appropriately  remarks,  that  here  the  immortal  paid 
homage  to  the  mortal.  Who  would  now  exchange  the  greatness 
of  Shakspeare  for  the  splendor  of  the  proudest  lord  that  bowed 
before  the  Maiden  Queen  ?  Or  let  us  imagine  Galileo,  such  as  he 
was  in  reality,  a  feeble  old  man,  humble  in  rank,  destitute  of  politi- 
cal influence,  unprotected  by  the  countenance  or  alliance  of  the 
great;  poor,  in  short,  in  every  thing  except  the  splendid  gifts  of  a 
profound,  original,  and  comprehensive  genius — and  conceive  him 
placed  at  the  bar  of  the  Roman  pontiff  and  the  seven  cardinals, 
men  terrible  in  power,  invested  with  authority  to  torture  and  kill 
in  this  world,  and,  as  was  then  believed,  to  damn  through  eternity  ; 
men  magnificent  in  state,  and  arrogant  in  the  imaginary  possession 
of  all  the  wisdom  of  their  age — and  let  us  say  who  was  then  great 
in  reputation — Galileo  or  his  judges  ?  But  who  is  now  the  idol  of 
posterity — the  old  man  or  his  persecutors  ?  The  case  will  be  the 
same  with  Gall.  If  his  discoveries  of  the  functions  of  the  brain, 
and  of  the  philosophy  of  the  mind,  stand  the  test  of  examination, 
and  prove  to  be  a  correct  interpretation  of  nature,  they  will  surpass, 
in  substantial  importance  to  mankind,  the  discoveries  even  of 
Harvey,  Newton,  and  Galileo;  and  this  age  will  in  rjonsequence 
he  rendered  more  illustrious  by  the  introduction  of  Phrenology, 
than  by  the  victories  of  Bonaparte,  or  of  Wellington.     Finally,  the 


PHRENOLOGY  CONSIDERED.  591 

assertion,  that  no  men  of  note  have  embraced  Phrenology,  is  not 
supported  by  fact.  In  the  New  Monthly  Magazine  for  January, 
1823,  it  is  said,  "  There  are  many  men  here  (Paris)  amongst  the 
most  eminent  for  their  medical  and  physiological  knowledge,  who, 
though  differing  widely  upon  other  scientific  topics,  yet  agree  in 
saying,  that  there  is  much  not  only  of  probability,  but  of  truth,  in 
the  system  of  Gall."  Professor  Ucelli  of  Florence  has  recently 
sacrificed  his  academical  chair  for  Phrenology.  Besides,  the  writ- 
ings of  the  phrenologists  will  bear  a  comparison  in  point  of  skill, 
extent  of  information,  correctness  of  logic,  and  profundity  of 
thought,  with  those  of  the  most  eminent  of  their  opponents. 

Objection. — All  the  disciples  of  Phrenology  are  persons  ignorant 
of  anatomy  and  physiology.  They  delude  lawyers,  divines,  and 
merchants,  who  know  nothing  about  the  brain  ;  but  all  medical 
men,  and  especially  teachers  of  anatomy,  are  so  well  aware  of  the 
fallacy  of  their  doctrines,  that  no  impression  is  made  on  them. 
They  laugh  at  the  discoveries  as  dreams. 

Answer. — This  objection,  like  many  others,  is  remarkable  more 
for  boldness  than  truth.  For  my  own  part,  before  adopting 
Phrenology,  I  saw  Dr.  Barclay,  and  other  anatomical  professors, 
dissect  the  brain  repeatedly,  and  heard  them  declare  its  functions 
to  be  an  enigma,  and  acknowledge  that  their  whole  information  con- 
cerning it  consisted  of  "names  without  meaning."  It  is  acknow- 
ledged, in  an  article  on  the  Nervous  System,  in  No.  94.  of  the 
Edinburgh  Review,  quoted  on  p.  42,  of  this  work,  that  the 
functions  of  the  brain  are  unknown  to  anatomists,  and  that  their 
mode  of  dissecting  it  is  absurd.  This  circumstance,  therefore, 
puts  the  whole  faculty,  who  have  not  studied  phrenologically, 
completely  out  of  the  field  as  authorities.  The  fact,  however,  is 
the  very  reverse  of  what  is  stated  in  the  foregoing  objection.  Drs. 
Gall  and  Spurzheim  are  now  pretty  generally  admitted  to  be  ad- 
mirable anatomists  of  the  brain,  even  by  those  who  disavow  their 
physiology  ;  and  in  the  list  of  the  Phrenological  Society,  out  of  86 
members,  there  are  13  doctors  in  medicine,  and  11  surgeons,  a 
proportion  considerably  larger  than  that  of  the  medical  profession 


692  OBJECTIONS  TO  PHRENOLOGY  CONSIDERED. 

to  society  in  general.     The  leading  medical  journals    also  have 
adopted  Phrenology  as  true. 

Objection. — "  It  is  inconceivable,  that,  after  the  discovery  was 
made,  there  should  be  any  body  who  could  pretend  to  doubt  of  its 
reality.  The  means  of  verifying  it,  one  would  think,  must  have 
been  such  as  not  to  leave  a  pretext  for  the  slightest  hesitation ;  and 
the  fact  that,  after  twenty  years  preaching  in  its  favor,  it  is  far  more 
generally  rejected  than  believed,  might  seem  to  afford  pretty  con- 
clusive evidence  against  the  possibility  of  its  truth." 

This  objection  has  been  answered  in  the  Introduction,  p.  2, 
where  it  is  shown  that  all  important  discoveries  have  been  equally 
despised  and  rejected  at  their  first  announcement. 

The  observations  there  quoted  from  Playfair  and  Locke,  are 
completely  applicable  to  the  case  of  Phrenology.  The  discovery  is 
new,  important,  and  widely  at  variance  with  the  prevailing  opinions 
of  the  present  generation  ;  and  its  reception  and  progress  have 
been  precisely  such  as  any  sensible  person,  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  science,  would  have  anticipated.  "  The  discoverer  of 
the  circulation  of  the  blood,"  says  the  Edinburgh  Review,* — 
"  a  discovery  which,  if  measured  by  its  consequences  on  physi- 
ology and  medicine,  was  the  greatest  ever  made  since  physic  was 
cultivated,  suffers  no  diminution  of  his  reputation  in  our  day,  from 
the  incredulity  with  which  his  doctrine  was  received  by  some,  the 
effrontery  with  which  it  was  claimed  by  others,  or  the  knavery 
with  which  it  was  attributed  to  former  physiologists,  by  those  who 
could  not  deny,  and  would  not  praise  it.  The  very  names  of  these 
envious  and  dishonest  enemies  of  Harvey  are  scarcely  remem- 
bered ;  and  the  honor  of  this  great  discovery  now  rests,  beyond 
all  dispute,  with  the  great  philosopher  who  made  it."  Posterity 
will  pass  a  similar  judgment  on  Dr.  Gall  and  his  opponents. 

*  No.  xciv.  p.  76.  The  article  quoted  in  the  text  is  "  On  the  Nervous  Sys- 
tem ;  "  and  the  names  of  Drs.  Gall  and  Spurzheim  are  not  mentioned  in  it  from 
beginning  to  end.  The  author,  however,  in  the  above  remarks,  affords  them  just 
grounds  of  consolation,  although  he  exemplifies  the  injustice  he  so  eloquently 
condemns. 


MATERIALISM.  593 


II.    MATERIALISM. 


There  are  two  questions,  connected  with  Materialism,  very 
different  in  themselves,  which  are  often  confounded.  The  one  is, 
ON  what  is  the  mind  dependent  for  existence  9  The  other,  on 
what  is  it  dependent  for  its  power  of  manifesting  itself  in  this  life'^ 
Phrenologists  declare  themselves  unable  to  decide  upon  the  first  ; 
but  maintain  that  facts  demonstrate  the  second  power  to  depend  on 
the  condition  of  the  organization.  When,  therefore,  a  phrenologist 
says  that  "  the  mental  qualities  and  capacities  are  dependent  upon 
the  bodily  constitution,"  the  sentence  falls  to  be  completed  "  not 
for  existence^  but /or  the  power  of  acting  in  this  material  worlds 
This  doctrine  has  been  frequently  stated  in  all  the  Phrenological 
books ;  and  it  ought  always  to  be  understood,  as  it  is  tedious  con- 
stantly to  repeat  it. 

The  objection,  however,  that  Phrenology  leads  to  materialism, 
has  been  frequently  urged  against  the  science  ;  but  it  appears  sin- 
gularly unphilosophical,  even  upon  the  most  superficial  consider- 
ation. Phrenology,  viewed  as  the  assertion  of  certain  physical 
facts,  cannot,  if  unfounded,  logically  lead  to  any  result,  except  the 
disgrace  and  mortification  of  its  supporters.  On  such  a  supposi- 
tion, it  cannot  overturn  religion,  or  any  other  truth  ;  because,  by 
the  constitution  of  the  human  intellect,  error  constantly  tends  to 
resolve  itself  into  nothing,  and  to  sink  into  oblivion  ;  while  truth, 
having  a  real  existence,  remains  permanent  and  impregnable.  In 
this  view,  then,  the  objection,  that  Phrenology  leads  to  material- 
ism, is  absurd.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  science  is  held  to  be  a 
true  interpretation  of  nature,  and  if  it  be  urged,  that,  nevertheless, 
it  leads  fairly  and  logically  to  materialism,  then  the  folly  of  the 
objection  is  equally  glaring  ;  for  it  resolves  itself  into  this, — that 
materialism  is  the  constitution  of  nature,  and  that  Phrenology  is 
dangerous,  because  it  makes  this  constitution  known. 

The  charge  assumes  a  still  more  awkward  appearance  in  one 
shape,  in  which  it  is  frequently  brought  forward.  The  objector 
admits  that  the  mind  uses  the  body  as  an  instrument  of  communi- 
75 


594  OBJECTIONS. 

cation  with  external  nature,  and  maintains  that  this  fact  does  not 
necessarily  lead  to  materialism.  In  this  1  agree  with  him ;  but  I 
cannot  perceive  how  it  should  lead  nearer  to  fhis  result,  to  hold 
that  each  faculty  manifests  itself  by  a  particular  organ,  than  to 
believe  that  the  whole  mind  acts  on  external  objects  by  means  of 
the  whole  body,  or  the  whole  brain.  In  short,  in  whatever  point 
of  view  the  system  is  regarded,  whether  as  true  or  false,  the  objec- 
tion of  materialism  is  futile  and  unphilosophical ;  and  one  must 
regret  that  it  should  have  been  brought  forward  in  the  name  of 
religion,  because  every  imbecile  and  unfounded  attack  against  phil- 
osophy, made  in  this  sacred  name,  tends  to  diminish  the  respect 
with  which  it  ought  always  to  be  invested. 

The  question  of  materialism  itself,  however,  as  a  point  of 
abstract  discussion,  has  of  late  excited  considerable  attention  ;  and 
I  shall  offer  a  few  remarks  upon  its  general  merits.  In  entering  on 
the  subject,  it  is  proper  to  take  a  view  of  the  nature  and  extent  of 
the  point  in  dispute,  and  of  the  real  effect  of  our  decision  upon  it. 
The  question  then  is,  Whether  the  substance  of  which  the  thinking 
principle  is  composed  be  matter  or  spirit  .''  And  the  effect  of  our 
decision,  let  it  be  observed,  is  not  to  alter  the  nature  of  that  sub- 
stance, whatever  it  is,  but  merely  to  adopt  an  opinion  consonant 
with,  or  adverse  to,  a  fact  in  nature  over  which  we  have  no  con- 
trol. Mind,  with  all  its  faculties  and  functions,  has  existed  since 
the  creation,  and  will  exist  till  the  human  race  becomes  extinct, 
and  no  opinion  of  man,  concerning  the  cause  of  its  phenomena, 
can  have  the  least  influence  over  that  cause  itself.  The  mind  is 
invested  by  nature  with  all  its  properties  and  essences,  and  these  it 
will  possess,  and  manifest,  and  maintain,  let  men  think,  and  speak, 
and  write  what  they  will,  concerning  its  substance.  If  the  Author 
of  Nature  has  invested  the  mind  with  the  quality  of  endless  exist- 
ence, it  will,  to  a  certainty,  flourish  in  immortal  youth,  in  spite  of 
every  appearance  of  premature  decay.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
Nature  has  limited  its  existence  to  this  passing  scene,  and 
decreed  that  it  shall  perish  for  ever  when  the  animating  principle 
passes  from  the  body,  then  all  our  conjectures,  arguments,  discus- 
sions, and  assertions,  respecting  its  immortality,  will  not  add  one 


MATERIALISM.  595 

day  to  its  existence.  The  opinions  of  man,  tlierefore,  concerning 
the  substance  of  the  mind,  can  have  no  influence  whatever  in 
changing  or  modifying  that  substance  itself ;  and  if  so,  as  httle  can 
these  opinions  undermine  the  constitution  of  the  mind,  or  its  rela- 
tions to  time  and  eternity,  on  which,  as  their  foundations,  morality 
and  religion  must,  and  do,  rest  as  on  an  immutable  basis.  Accord- 
ing to  Phrenology,  morality  and  natural  religion  originate  in,  and 
emanate  from,  the  primitive  constitution  of  the  mental  powers 
themselves.  Innumerable  observations  have  proved,  that  faculties 
and  organs  of  Benevolence,  Hope,  Veneration,  Justice,  and 
Reflection,  exist.  Now,  our  believing  that  the  mind  will  die  with 
the  body,  will  not  pluck  these  sentiments  and  powers  from  the 
soul  ;  nor  will  our  believing  the  mind  to  be  immortal  implant  a  sin- 
gle one  more  of  them  in  our  constitution.  They  would  all  remain 
the  same  in  functions  and  constitution,  and  render  virtue  amiable, 
and  vice  odious,  although  we  should  believe  the  mind  to  be  made 
of  dust,  just  as  they  would  do  were  we  to  believe  the  mind  to  be 
a  more  immediate  emanation  from  the  Deity  himself. 

In  short,  therefore,  this  question  of  materialism  is  one  of  the 
most  vain,  trivial,  and  uninteresting  that  ever  engaged  the  human 
intellect  ;  and  nothing  can  be  more  unphilosophical,  and  more 
truly  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  morality  and  religion,  than  the 
unfounded  clamor,  or  cant  shall  I  call  it,  which  has  been  poured 
forth  from  the  periodical  journals  about  the  dangers  attending  it. 
A  manly  intellect,  instead  of  bowing  before  prejudice,  would  dis- 
sipate it,  by  showing  that  the  question  is  altogether  an  illusion,  and 
that,  adopt  what  opinion  we  will,  concerning  the  substance  of  the 
mind,  every  attribute  belonging  to  it  must  remain  unaltered  and 
unimpaired. 

But  not  to  stop  in  our  investigation  till  we  have  reached  the 
goal,  we  may  inquire,  whether  it  be  possible  to  discover  the  sub- 
stance of  which  the  mind  is  composed,  and  to  determine  whether 
it  be  material  or  immaterial?  The  first  step  in  this  investigation  is 
to  ascertain  what  means  we  possess  of  arriving  at  a  knowledge  of 
the  essence  of  the  mind.  All  our  knowledge  must  be  derived 
either  from  consciousness  or  observation.     Now,  by  reflecting  on 


596  OBJECTIONS. 

what  we  feel,  we  discover  nothing  concerning  the  nature  or 
essence  of  the  thinking  being.  We  do  not  feel  a  spiritual  substance 
stirring  within  us,  and  elaborating  sentiment  and  thought ;  and 
neither  do  we  feel  a  material  substance  producing  these  effects. 
We  are  conscious  of  feelings  and  emotions,  of  friendships  and 
attachments,  of  high  conceptions  and  glorious  thoughts ;  but 
whether  these  originate  from  matter  or  spirit ;  whether  the  first 
embryo  substance  of  reflection  dwelt  lowly  in  the  dust,  or  soared 
a  pure  ethereal  essence  amid  the  regions  of  boundless  space, 
before  it  was  constituted  a  part  of  us  ;  whether  God,  in  creating 
man,  was  pleased  to  invest  his  material  organs  with  the  property 
of  thought,  or  to  infuse  into  him  a  portion  of  immaterial  fire  ; — -on 
all  these  points  Consciousness  gives  us  no  information.  A  great 
deal  of  popular  delusion,  indeed,  has  been  kept  alive  on  this  point, 
by  the  fact  being  overlooked,  that  we  are  not  conscious  of  the 
operations  of  the  brain.  Men  in  general,  because  they  are  sensi- 
ble only  of  thought  and  feeling,  and  not  of  the  movements  of  any 
material  organ  performing  these  acts  of  the  mind,  imagine  that  it  is 
necessarily  an  immaterial  substance,  which  is  thinking  and  feeling 
within  them  ;  but  they  are  equally  unconscious  of  the  contraction 
and  relaxation  of  the  muscles,  and  they  might  as  well  imagine  that 
their  legs  and  arms  are  moved,  not  by  material  organs,  but  by  the 
direct  impulse  of  spirit,  as  entertain  the  supposition  in  question. 
In  short,  the  truly  philosophical  conclusion  is,  that,  by  means  of 
consciousness,  we  are  unable  to  discover  of  what  substance  the 
thinking  principle  is  composed. 

Does  observation,  then,  throw  a  stronger  and  steadier  light  upon 
this  long  agitated  question?  The  mental  organs,  while  in  health, 
and  in  the  natural  state  in  which  their  functions  are  most  perfectly 
performed,  are  completely  hid  from  inspection.  No  eye  can  pen- 
etrate the  integuments  of  the  head,  the  tables  of  the  skull,  the  dura 
mater,  and  the  pia  mater,  to  obtain  a  view  of  the  operations  per- 
formed in  the  brain,  while  the  thoughts  run  high,  and  the  senti- 
ments swell  with  emotion  ;  and  when  external  injury  or  disease 
removes  these  coverings,  the  mind  does  not  disport  in  all  the  vigor 
of  its  healthy  action.     Besides,  even  when  all  these  external  obsta- 


MATERIALISM.  597 

cles  to  inspection  are  removed,  still  it  is  only  the  surface  of  the 
convolutions  which  is  perceived,  and  the  soul  may  be  enthroned 
in  the  long  fibres  wliich  extend  from  the  surface  to  the  medulla 
oblongata,  or  thought  may  be  elaborated  there,  and  still  evade 
detection.  It  will  be  said,  however,  that  death  will  solve  the 
question,  and  allow  the  whole  secrets  of  the  soul  to  be  disclosed  ; 
but,  alas!  when  the  pulse  has  ceased  to  beat,  and  the  lungs  no 
longer  play,  the  brain  presents  nothing  to  our  contemplation,  but 
an  inert  mass,  of  a  soft  and  fibrous  texture,  in  which  no  thought  can 
be  discerned,  and  no  sentiment  perceived,  and  in  which  also  no 
spirit  or  immaterial  substance  can  be  traced  ;  so  that  from  inspect- 
ing it  even  imagination  receives  no  food  for  conjecture,  as  to  the 
presence  or  absence  of  an  immaterial  guest  while  life  and  health 
yet  animated  its  folds. 

Observation,  therefore,  reveals  as  little  in  regard  to  the  substance 
of  the  mind,  as  does  reflection  on  consciousness  ;  and  as  no  other 
modes  of  arriving  at  certain  knowledge  are  open  to  man,  the  solu- 
tion of  the  question  appears  to  be  placed  completely  beyond  his 
reach.  In  short,  io  use  an  observation  of  Dr.  Spurzheim,  Nature 
has,  given  man  faculties  fitted  to  observe  phenomena  as  they  at 
present  exist,  and  the  relations  subsisting  between  them  ;  but  has 
denied  to  him  powers  fitted  to  discover,  as  a  matter  of  direct  per- 
ception, either  the  beginning,  or  the  end,  or  the  essence,  of  any 
thing  under  the  sun  ;  we  may  amuse  our  imagination  with  conjec- 
tures, but  will  never  arrive  at  truth,  when  we  stray  into  these  inter- 
dicted regions. 

The  solution  of  this  question,  therefore,  is  not  only  unimportant, 
but  it  is  impossible  ;  and  this  leads  me  to  observe,  that  no  idea  can 
be  more  erroneous  than  that  which  supposes  the  dignity  and  future 
destiny  of  man  as  an  immortal  being,  to  depend,  of  necessity,  on 
the  substance  of  which  he  is  made. 

Let  us  allow  to  the  materialist,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  the 
brain  is  the  mind,  and  that  medullary  matter  thinks, — What  then.-* 
If,  in  fact,  it  does  so,  it  must  be  the  best  possible  substance  for 
thinking,  just  because  the  Creator  selected  it  for  the  purpose, 
and  endowed  it  with  this  property.     In  this  argument,  the  religious 


598  OBJECTIONS. 

constantly  forget,  that  the  same  omnipotent  hand  made  the  brain 
that  created  the  mind  and  the  universe  itself,  and  that,  in  the  dedi- 
cation of  every  cerebral  convolution  to  its  objects,  be  they  think- 
ing or  any  other  process,  the  Divine  Wisdom  is  as  certainly  exer- 
cised, as  in  impressing  motion  on  the  planets,  or  infusing  light  and 
heat  into  the  sun.  If,  therefore,  de  facto,  God  has  made  the  brain 
to  think,  we  may  rest  assured  that  it  is  exquisitely  and  perfectly 
adapted  for  this  purpose,  and  that  His  objects  in  creating  man  will 
not  be  defeated,  on  account  of  His  having  chosen  a  wrong  sub- 
stance, out  of  which  to  constitute  the  thinking  principle.  But  what 
are  His  objects  in  creating  man.''  This  brings  us  to  the  jet  of  the 
question  at  once.  Mr.  Lawrence,  it  is  said,  founds  no  moral  doc- 
trine on  his  opinions  regarding  the  essence  of  the  mind  ;  but  other 
materialists,  who  make  these  opinions  the  foundation  of  atheism, 
wish  us  to  believe  that  the  best  evidence  of  the  Divine  intention  in 
creating  the  human  soul,  is  to  be  found  by  discovering  the  sub- 
stance of  which  it  is  made  ;  and  they  insinuate,  that,  if  it  be  consti- 
tuted of  a  very  refined  and  dignified  material,  the  conclusion  neces- 
sarily follows,  that  it  is  intended  for  magnificent  destinies,  while,  if 
it  be  composed  of  a  rude  and  vulgar  stuff,  it  must  be  intended  only 
to  crawl  on  this  filthy  world.  Here,  however,  sense  and  logic 
equally  fail  them  :  for  no  principle  in  philosophy  is  more  certain 
than  that  we  cannot  infer  from  a  knowledge  of  the  mere  substance 
of  any  thing  for  what  ends  it  is  fitted.  Exhibit  to  a  human  being 
every  variety  of  imaginable  essence,  and  if  you  allow  him  to  know 
no  more  of  its  properties  than  he  can  discover  from  examining  its 
constituent  parts,  he  will  be  utterly  incapable  of  telling  whether  it 
is  calculated  to  endure  for  a  day,  or  last  to  eternity.  The  materi- 
alist, therefore,  is  not  entitled,  even  from  the  supposed  admission 
that  medullary  matter  thinks,  to  conclude  that  the  human  being  is 
not  immortal  and  responsible.  The  true  way  of  discovering  for 
what  end  man  has  been  created,  is  to  look  to  the  qualities  with 
which  he  has  been  endowed,  trusting  that  the  substance  of  which 
he  is  composed  is  perfectly  suited  to  the  objects  of  his  creation. 
Now,  when  we  inquire  into  his  qualities,  we  find  the  thinking  prin- 
ciple in  him  to  differ,  not  only  in  degree,  but  in  kind,  from  that  of 


MATERIALISM.  599 

the  lower  animals.  The  latter  have  no  faculty  of  justice,  to  indi- 
cate to  them  that  the  unrestrained  manifestation  of  Destructiveness 
or  Acquisitiveness  is  wrong  ;  they  have  no  sentiment  of  Veneration 
to  prompt  them  to  seek  a  God  whom  they  may  adore  ;  they  have 
no  faculty  of  Hope,  pointing  out  futurity  as  an  object  of  ceaseless 
anxiety  and  contemplation,  and  leading  them  to  desire  a  life  beyond 
the  grave  ;  and,  indeed,  the  convolutions  of  the  brain,  which  in 
man  form  the  organs  of  these  sentiments,  appear  not  to  exist  in  the 
lower  animals.  Those  organs  also,  which  in  man  serve  to  manifest 
the  faculties  of  Reflection,  are,  in  the  lower  animals,  eminently 
deficient,  and  their  understanding,  in  exact  correspondence  with  this 
fact,  is  so  limited  as  to  be  satisfied  with  little  knowledge,  and  to 
be  insensible  to  the  comprehensive  design  and  glories  of  creation. 
Man,  then,  being  endowed  with  qualities  which  are  denied  to  the 
lower  creatures,  we  are  entitled,  by  a  legitimate  exercise  of  reflec- 
tion^ the  subject  being  beyond  the  region  of  the  external  senses,  to 
conclude,  on  principles  truly  philosophic,  that  he  is  designed  for 
another  and  a  higher  destiny  than  is  to  be  allotted  to  them,  what- 
ever be  the  essence  of  his  mind. 

These  principles  enable  us  to  dispose  of  an  objection,  which 
was  long  ago  stated  by  Dr.  Barclay,  and  has  since  been  repeated 
by  many  other  opponents,  and  yet  is  in  itself  very  absurd.  Dr. 
Barclay's  hypothesis  is  that  the  mind  fashions  the  organs.  If  it 
is  impossible  to  discover  the  substance  of  which  the  mind  is 
composed,  it  is  equally  impracticable  to  tell  whether  the  faculties 
determine  the  size  of  the  organs,  or  the  organs  limit  the  power  of 
the  faculties.  Some  of  the  difficulties  with  which  Dr.  Barclay's 
notions  are  beset  are  the  following :  If  the  immaterial  mind  fash- 
ions the  organs,  then  God  bestows  idiotic  minds,  insane  minds, 
stupid  minds,  and  viciously  disposed  minds,  on  different  individuals; 
and  these  make  bad  organs, — a  doctrine  which  appears  fully  more 
objectionable  than  the  theory,  that  the  mind  itself,  in  all  individuals 
is  perfect ;  but  that  the  manifestations  of  its  dispositions  and  pow- 
ers, in  this  life,  are  affected  by  the  state  of  the  organs  with  which 
it  is  connected.  On  the  former  supposition  human  efforts  can  do 
nothing  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  mind  ;  for  the  immaterial 


600  OBJECTIONS. 

principle  is  beyond  our  reach,  and  until  we  modify  it  no  change  in 
the  organs  can  take  place.  On  the  latter  hypothesis  we  are  encour- 
aged, with  hopes  of  success  to  do  our  best ;  for  it  assumes  that  the 
mind  in  all  individuals  is  sound,  and  that  the  imperfections  lie  in 
the  organs,  which  are  subject  to  modification  by  means  of  propaga- 
tion and  exercise,  in  other  words  by  education.  According  to  this 
view,  also,  insanity  is  not  a  disease  of  the  immaterial  principle,  but 
an  affection  of  the  organs,  which  may  be  cured  by  medicine. — 
Phren.  Journ.  Vol.  ii.  p.  149. 


111.       ON  THE    EFFECTS    OF    INJURIES    OF   THE    BRAIN    ON 
THE    MANIFESTATIONS     OF  THE    MIND. 

BY    DR.   A.    COMBE. 

Of  all  the  arguments  advanced  for  the  subversion  of  Phrenol- 
ogy, not  one  has  been  more  frequently  or  more  confidently  urged, 
than  that  which  rests  on  the  alleged  fact  of  the  brain  having,  in 
various  instances,  been  wounded  or  destroyed  in  whole  or  in  part, 
without  in  any  degree  impeding  the  usual  operations  of  mind. 
When  narrowly  examined,  however,  this  objection  proves  to  be  at 
variance  with  the  views  of  those  who  maintain  it,  and  completely 
demonstrative  of  their  ignorance  of  the  principles  of  the  science 
against  which  it  is  directed.  "  The  system  of  Gall  and  Spurz- 
heim,"  it  is  said,  "however  ingenious  or  amusing  in  theory  it  may 
be,  is  annihilated  by  the  commonest  reference  to  fact.  Experi- 
ence has  shown  us,  that  a  man  may  live  in  the  full  enjoyment  of 
his  intellectual  faculties,  although  a  part  of  his  brain  is  destroyed 
by  disease.  Portions  of  the  brain,  various  in  situation  and  size, 
have  been  found  to  have  been  entirely  disorganized,  yet  no  single 
power  of  the  mind  was  impaired^  even  to  the  very  day  of  the 
patient's  death.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  one  portion  of 
the  brain,  that  has  not,  in  some  case  or  another,  been  deranged  in 
its  structure,  without  injury  to  the  mind.  Certainly,  of  the  parts 
specified  by  Gall  and  Spurzheim,  every  one  has,  in  its  turn,  been 
found  wanting,  without  any  deficiency  in  that  intellectual  faculty 


IINJURIES    OF   THE   BRAIN.  601 

which  they  would  represent  it  either  to  produce  or  sustain."* 
Such  are  the  ipsissima  verba  of  a  learned  and  respectable,  though 
prejudiced  opponent;  and  although  others  might  be  quoted,  who  go 
still  farther  than  he  does,  I  am  ready  to  admit,  that,  if  the  state- 
ments here  recorded  were  as  clearly  substantiated  as  they  were 
sweepingly  made,  neither  the  system  of  philosophy  which  we  advo- 
cate, nor  any  other  which  acknowledges  the  necessity  of  the  inter- 
vention of  a  material  instrument  for  the  manifestation  of  the  mind, 
could  possibly  survive  for  a  day. 

At  first  sight,  the  foregoing  objection  appears  to  be  highly 
plausible  and  relevant ;  and  coming  as  it  generally  does,  directly 
or  indirectly,  from  the  members  of  the  medical  profession,  who, 
naturally  enough,  are  supposed  to  be  best  qualified  to  judge,  it  is 
received  by  many  with  implicit  confidence,  and  thus  operates  upon 
them  with  all  the  force  of  truth;  and,  in  fact,  to  those  who  are  alike 
ignorant  of  Anatomy  and  of  Phrenology,  and  who,  therefore,  have 
no  means  of  forming  an  accurate  estimate  of  its  force,  it  does  pre- 
sent a  very  formidable  aspect.  As,  however,  to  those  who  are 
acquainted  with  both  these  sciences,  and  who  are  consequently 
better  qualified  to  judge  correctly,  the  very  facts  upon  which  the 
objections  are  grounded,  seem,  instead  of  invalidating  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  the  new  philosophy,  to  be  clearly  and  unequiv- 
ocally demonstrative  of  their  truth;  it  may  be  useful  to  state  such 
an  abstract  of  the  evidence  itself,  as  shall  enable  even  the  unpro- 
fessional reader  to  determine  how  far  it  authorizes  the  inferences 
which  have  been  deduced  from  it  by  our  opponents.  With  this 
intention,  I  shall  first  make  some  observations  on  the  testimony 
offered  of  the  alleged  integrity  of  all  the  mental  faculties,  in  cases 
of  extensive  injury  of  the  brain  ;  and  then  examine  anatomically, 
how  far  the  extent,  situation,  and  nature  of  the  injuries  sustained  in 
the  cases  alluded  to,  authorize  us  to  infer  the  partial  or  total  destruc- 
tion of  any  individual  phrenological  organ  ;  and,  lastly,  I  shall  offer 
a  few  remarks  on  the  possibility  of  discovering  the  functions  of 
the  brain,  from  noticing  the  effects  of  its  injuries, — a  mode  of 
proceeding  lately  recommended  from  high  authority. 

*  Rennel  on  Skepticism,  p.  100. 
76 


602  OBJECTIONS. 

In  proceeding  to  this  inquiry,  it  must  first  be  observed,  that, 
without  a  single  exception,  all  the  cases  alluded  to  are  related 
by  surgical  authors,  for  purely  professional  purposes,  without  the 
remotest  idea  of  their  being  afterwards  founded  on,  to  prove  that 
entire  preservation  of  the  mental  faculties  may  coexist  with  exten- 
sive disorganization  of  the  organ  of  mind  ;  consequently,  in  all  of 
them,  as  will  be  seen  by  a  reference  to  Dr.  Ferriar's  paper,  in  the 
4th  volume  of  the  Manchester  Memoirs,  and  to  the  48th  number 
of  the  Edinburgh  Review,  the  state  of  the  mind  is  mentioned  mere- 
ly incidentally,  and  in  very  vague  and  general  terms,  as  it  was,  in 
reality,  scarcely  attended  to.  For  instance,  it  is  stated  in  one  case, 
that  "  the  senses  were  retained  to  the  last;"  in  another,  that  "  there 
was  no  loss  of  sensibility;"  in  a  third,  that  there  was  "  no  aliena- 
tion of  mind;"  and,  in  a  fourth,  that  "  the  patient  remained  quite 
well."  The  want  of  precision,  indeed,  and  the  utter  inadequacy 
of  the  statements  to  establish  the  important  conclusions  deduced 
from  them,  are  so  palpably  conspicuous,  that  even  the  Reviewer 
already  alluded  to,  hostile  as  he  is  to  the  doctrines  of  Phrenology, 
expresses  a  "wish  to  see  cases  more  minute  in  all  their  details; 
and  observed^  with  a  view  specially  to  this  physiological  inquiry^ 
substituted  for  those  we  at  present  possess,"*  before  he  ventures 
to  pronounce  an  irrevocable  decree  ;  and  if  he  hesitates,  it  would 
surely  be  too  much  to  expect  us  to  pronounce,  upon  testimony 
rejected  by  Am,  a  verdict  against  ourselves. 

But,  even  granting  that  these  cases  had  been  observed,  with  a 
view  specially  to  this  physiological  inquiry;  still  this  testimony, 
to  be  of  the  slightest  value  in  establishing  the  point  contended  for, 
necessarily  supposes  two  conditions  or  requisites  in  those  by  whom 
they  are  narrated,  which  were  manifestly  not  possessed,  viz.  1st, 
A  perfect  knowledge  of  the  number  and  nature  of  the  primitive 
faculties  of  the  human  mind  ;  and,  2dly^  A  previous  knowledge  of 
their  relative  degrees  of  endowment  and  energy  during  health,  in 
the  individual  cases  under  consideration. 

Now,  as  to  the  first  of  these,  it  is  well  known  that  scarcely  any 
two  metaphysicians  who  make  the  philosophy  of  mind  their  partic- 

*  Edinburgh  Review,  No.  48,  p.  448. 


INJURIES   OF   THE  BRAIN.  603 

ular  study,  are  agreed  either  upon  the  number  or  nature   of  the 
primitive   mental  powers.     Much  less,  then,  can  we  expect   the 
surgeon,  engaged  in  the  hurry  of  general  practice,  to  be  better 
informed.      "  Certain  crude  ideas,"  says  the  Edinburgh  Reviewer, 
in  his  notice  of  Sir  E.   Home's   paper  on  the  Functions  of  the 
Brain,  "are  attached  to  the  words  Intellectual  Faculties;  a  vague 
conjecture  arises  as  to  the  seat  and  nature  of  these  faculties.''^* 
How,  then,    I  would  ask,    can  any   one  certify,   even  after  the 
most  scrupulous  attention,  that  all  the  powers  of  the  mind  are 
retained,  when  he  is  ignorant  what  these  powers  are  ?  When  he  is 
ignorant,  for  instance,  whether  the  propensities  of  Destructiveness, 
Acquisitiveness,  or  Secretiveness  exist,  and  whether  the  sentiments 
of  Veneration,  Hope  or  Conscientiousness,  are  primitive  emotions. 
The  state  of  these,  and  other  feelings  and  propensities,  proved  by 
Phrenology  to  be  primitive,  is  never  once  alluded  to  in  the  history 
of  injuries  of  the  brain;  and,  consequently,  for  any  thing  we  are  told 
to  the  contrary,  they,   along  with   their  respective   organs,  might 
have  been  entirely  wanting,  in    every  one  of  the  cases  which  are 
advanced  as  instances  of  entire  possession  of  the  faculties.     The 
opponents  never  speak  of  any  except  intellectual  faculties  ;  and  in 
expecting  lesion  of  these  powers,  when,  for  instance,  it  is  only  the 
cerebellum,  or  posterior  lobes  of  the  brain,  that  are  diseased,  they 
display  at  once  their  own  ignorance  of  the  nature  and  number  of 
the  primitive  faculties,  and  their  most  profound  ignorance   of  the 
doctrines  which  they  impugn.     If  any  injury  occurs  in  that  portion 
of  the  brain  lying  under  the  most  prominent  part  of  the   parietal 
bone,  which  the  phrenologist  states  to  be  the  organ  of  Cautious- 
ness, and  if  we  be  in  doubt  as  to  the  accuracy  of  the  function 
assigned  to  it,  and  wish  to  have  our  observations  confirmed  or  refut- 
ed by  the  phenomena  attending  such  a  case,  one  would  naturally 
suppose  that,  as  the  organs  are  all  double,  we   would  begin   by 
observing,  whether  the  corresponding  portion  of  brain  on  the  oppo- 
site side  partook  in  the  disorganization  or  not ;  and  that  we  would 
then  proceed  to  investigate  the  state  of  that  particular  faculty,  of 
which  these  parts  constitute  the  organs,  and  thus  ascertain  whether 
*  Edinburgh  Review,  No.  48,  p.  439. 


604  OBJECTIONS. 

the  feeling  of  Cautiousness  ever  remained  undiminished,  where, 
from  the  extent  of  the  disease,  it  ought,  according  to  the  ordinary 
laws  of  the  animal  economy,  to  have  been  either  impaired,  or 
entirely  wanting. 

This  mode  of  proceeding,  plain  and  simple  as  it  appears,  is  not 
that  pursued  by  the  opponents  of  Phrenology.  The  opponent 
does  not  care,  and  does  not  inquire,  whether  it  is  one  side  only,  or 
both  sides,  which  are  diseased:  he  makes  no  inquiry  about  the 
presence  or  absence  of  the  manifestations  of  the  sentiment  of  Cau- 
tiousness :  he  proceeds  at  once  to  the  state  of  the  intellectual 
powers,  with  which  Phrenology  most  distinctly  teaches  that  that 
part  of  the  brain  has  no  direct  connexion;  and  finding  none  of  the 
faculties  which  he  calls  Attention,  Perception,  Memory  or  Imag- 
ination at  all  iaipaired,  he,  with  great  confidence,  concludes,  that 
the  part  in  question  cannot  be  the  organ  of  Cautiousness;  and  so 
satisfied  is  he  with  his  own  reasoning,  that  he  thinks  himself  enti- 
tled to  ridicule  those  who  do  not  see  its  cogency  as  clearly  as  he 
does  himself.  On  any  other  subject,  this  mode  of  reasoning  would 
be  looked  upon  as  proceeding  from  a  very  blameable  and  lamenta- 
ble degree  of  ignorance;  but  such  was  once  the  state  of  the  public 
mind,  that,  when  directed  against  Phrenology,  it  was  hailed  almost 
universally  as  highly  philosophical  and  satisfactory. 

Even  supposing,  however,  that  the  number  of  primitive  faculties 
was  known,  still  no  dependence  can  be  placed  upon  cases  not  ob- 
served, with  a  view  "specially  to  this  physiological  inquiry;"  for 
daily  experience  proves,  that  whenever  a  patient  is  able  to  retui'n  a 
rational  answer  to  any  simple  question  about  his  health,  the  surgeon 
and  attendants,  whose  attention  is  not  directed  to  the  point,  inva- 
rial^ly  speak  of  him  as  in  full  possession  of  all  his  faculties,  although 
he  is  as  unable  to  think  or  reason  on  any  serious  subject,  with  his 
accustomed  energy  and  facility,  as  a  gouty  or  rheumatic  patient  is 
to  walk  with  his  accustomed  vigor.  In  one  sense,  no  doubt,  the 
former  may  be  said  to  be  in  possession  of  all  his  faculties,  just  as 
the  latter,  merely  because  he  can  drag  himself  across  a  room,  may 
be  said  to  possess  the  power  of  muscular  motion  ;  but  then  the 
power  of  exercising  the  faculties  may  be,  and  is,  as  much  dimin- 


INJURIES   OF  THE  BRAIN.  605 

ished  in  the  one  case,  as  that  of  using  the  muscles  in  the  other. 
Even  take  a  convalescent  from  any  acute  disease,  in  which  there 
has  been  no  particular  aifection  of  the  brain,  and  introduce  a  subject 
which  requires  a  train  of  thinking,  and  concentration  of  mind,  to 
which,  in  health.,  he  is  fully  equal,  so  far  from  retaining  his  powers 
undiminished,  he  will  soon  be  reminded  of  his  enfeebled  state,  by 
painful  confusion  in  the  head,  and  other  disagreeable  symptoms. 
But,  confine  his  attention  to  any  thing  which  requires  no  effort  on 
his  part,  and  you  benefit  rather  than  harm  him  by  such  exercise, 
for  it  is  then  suited  to  the  diminished  vigor  of  his  mind.  Now, 
this  is  precisely  the  kind  of  discourse  which  the  judicious  surgeon 
permits  to  his  patient,  and  from  it  alone  he  forms  his  own  opinion 
of  the  state  of  the  mind  ;  and,  therefore,  a  person  in  such  state  is 
uniformly  said  "to  retain  his  faculties,"  &c.  In  hke  manner,  the 
convalescent,  gouty  or  rheumatic  patient,  if  gently  exercised  by 
strollmg  about  his  room,  reaps  benefit  and  strength  ;  but  suppose 
you  force  him  to  an  effort  beyond  what  his  muscular  energy  is 
calculated  to  support,  the  same  bad  effect  is  produced  as  in  the 
case  of  the  mind,  and  as  well  might  this  person  be  said  to  retam 
his  power  of  voluntary  motion  undiminished,  as  the  other  all  his 
force  of  intellect  unimpaired. 

That  the  evidence  as  to  the  state  of  the  mind,  after  wounds  or 
alteration  of  the  cerebral  mass,  is  really  so  vague  and  unsatisfactory, 
may  easily  be  shown  from  Dr.  Ferriar's  paper,  and  from  the  Ed- 
inburgh Review,  the  text-books  of  the  opponents.  Besides  the 
objection  of  extreme  latitude  in  such  expressions,  as  "no  loss  of 
sensibility,"  "no  loss  of  voluntary  motion,"  &c.  &c.,  wnen  used 
to  indicate  the  condition  of  all  the  mental  faculties,  it  may  be 
remarked,  that  Dr.  Ferriar  speaks  of  one  man  as  retaining  all  his 
faculties  entire,  who,  it  appears,  had  labored  under  hypochondriasis 
for  ten  years  ;  a  disease,  the  very  existence  of  which  impUeg  a 
morbid  activity  of  some  of  the  mental  feelings,  and  which,  conse- 
quently, ranks  in  the  list  of  insanities ;  and  of  a  girl  who,  with 
evident  symptoms  of  oppressed  brain,  is  also  said  to  have  retamed 
her  faculties  ;  and  that  the  reviewer  speaks  of  a  lady,  w^ho,  "  the 
day  before  her  death,  was  capable  of  being  roused  from  her  stupor^ 


606  OBJECTIONS. 

aad  was  then  in  possession  of  all  her  senses."  But  the  idiot  from 
birth,  when  roused  from  his  natural  stupor  by  the  exaltation  of  a 
fever,  appears  sometimes  to  gain  a  considerable  share  of  intellectual 
power,  only  to  be  lost  upon  recovery.  Will  he,  too,  then,  be 
said  to  be  in  full  possession  of  every  faculty,  because  thus  shown 
to  be  susceptible  of  excitation  from  stimuli  ?  The  inference,  in 
the  one  case,  is  certainly  as  logical  as  it  is  in  the  other. 

But,  even  allowing  also  that,  from  a  previous  acquaintance  with 
the  number  and  functions  of  all  mental  powers,  we  vi^ere  qualified 
to  judge  of  their  presence  or  absence,  it  seems  still  to  be  a  self- 
evident  proposition,  that  before  we  can  affirm  that  a  man  possesses 
them  all  unimpaired  under  disease,  we  must  have  had  some  pre- 
vious knowledge  of  the  relative  degrees  of  endowment  and  energy 
in  which  he  possessed  them  when  in  health.  The  differences  of 
intellectual  vigor,  of  temper,  and  of  moral  dispositions,  between 
man  and  man,  are  exceedingly  great.  The  scale  extends  from  the 
lowest  pitch  of  idiocy,  up  to  the  highest  endowment  of  genius  ;  and 
the  history  of  diseases  informs  us,  that  a  man,  whose  faculties  have 
suffered  a  great  diminution  of  energy,  may  still  be  able  to  return  a 
rational  answer  to  a  question,  although  his  mind  is  unable  to  fathom 
the  depths  it  penetrated  before.  If,  then,  our  first  acquaintance 
with  a  patient  suffering  from  an  injury  of  the  brain  is  formed  by 
the  side  of  his  sick-bed  after  the  accident  has  occurred,  what  means 
do  we  possess  of  knowing  how  far  his  mental  powers  in  general, 
or  any  one  in  particular,  have  been  injured  or  impaired  .''  Even 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  the  difficulty  is  by  no 
means  easily  surmountable  ;  and,  when  we  consider  that  injuries 
of  the  head  are  by  far  more  frequent  in  hospital  than  in  private 
practice  ;  and  that,  in  the  former,' the  surgeon  has  seldom  seen  the 
patient  before,  it  will  be  obvious,  that,  even  supposing  the  testi- 
mony as  to  the  actual  state  of  the  faculties  to  be  as  specific  and 
precise  as  it  is  general  and  vague,  still,  in  a  great  majority  of 
instances,  the  surgeon  is  unfavorably  situated  for  speaking  of  the 
comparative  force  of  any  of  them,  seeing  that  this  do-^s  not  form 
the  direct  or  usual  object  of  his  inquiries,  and  that,  although  it  did, 


INJURIES   OF  THE  BRAIN.  607 

he  must  necessarily  be  ignorant  of  the  degree  in  which  they  were 
manifested  before  the  injury  was  sustained. 

Having  now  shown  that  the  observers  quoted  by  the  opponents 
were  evidently  neither  acquainted  with  the  number  and  functions 
of  the  mental  faculties,  nor  in  possession  of  any  means  of  judging 
of  the  actual  existence,  or  comparative  diminution  of  any  indi- 
vidual faculty,  in  cases  of  disease  or  wounds  of  the  cerebral 
mass,  I  proceed  to  point  out  an  anatomical  requisite,  which, 
although  as  essential  as  the  other  two,  seems  not  to  have  been 
possessed  in  any  perceptible  degree  by  any  of  those  to  whom  the 
cases  occurred,  or  by  whom  they  are  quoted.  I  allude  to  know- 
ledge of  the  situation^  form^  and  direction  of  fibre  of  the  several 
organs  of  which  the  phrenologists  state  the  brain  to  be  a  congeries. 
Without  this  knowledge,  any  observations  must  manifestly  be  im- 
perfect : — how,  for  instance,  is  a  man  to  ascertain  that  the  organ 
of  Cautiousness  has  been  wounded  or  destroyed,  if  he  knows 
neither  its  local  situation,  nor  the  direction  in  which  its  constituent 
fibres  run  .''  And  yet  this  is  precisely  the  state  of  mind  of  those 
upon  whose  authority  the  objection  we  are  now  refuting  is  so 
strenuously  urged  : — nine-tenths  of  the  cases  occurred  long  before 
the  organs  were  discovered,  and  the  remaining  tenth  were,  I 
believe,  observed  in  ignorance  of  the  discovery,  so  that  all  come 
under  one  class.  If  any  one,  indeed,  could  prove  that  he  has  found 
both  the  organs  of  Cautiousness  destroyed,  while  the  corresponding 
feeling  was  manifested  as  powerfully  as  before,  then  he  would  prove 
the  operation  of  that  sentiment  to  have  been  erroneously  ascribed 
to  that  particular  part  of  the  brain.  But  unless  he  knows  accurate- 
ly the  situation  of  that  organ  towards  the  surface,  and  the  direction 
of  its  fibres  towards  the  interior,  whether  they  are  horizontal,  ver- 
tical, or  oblique,  and  unless  he  ascertains  the  condition  of  the 
organs  of  both  sides,  How  can  he  venture  to  affirm  that  they  were 
destroyed  either  in  whole  or  in  part .''  We  are  told,  it  is  true,  by 
Mr.  Rennel,  and  other  opponents,  that  every  individual  pait  spec- 
ified by  Gall  and  Spurzheim  has  in  its  turn  been  destroyed,  without 
injury  to  the  faculty  of  which  they  call  it  the  organ.  But  if  we 
examine  the  foundations  upon  which  such  assertions  rest,  the  same 


608  OBJECTIONS. 

want  of  precision,  the  same  inconclusive  vagueness,  will  be  found 
to  prevail,  as  in  the  evidence  of  the  state  of  the  mind.  Not  a  single 
case  in  point  can  be  produced ;  and  it  is  evident  that  Mr.  Rennel, 
as  well  as  the  other  opponents,  supposes  the  organs  to  be  confined 
to  the  surface  of  the  brain,  instead  of  extending  to  its  very  base,  to 
the  medulla  oblongata.  They  also,  by  what  rules  of  logic  I  know 
not,  appear  to  think  injury  of  one  organ  sufficient  to  destroy  the 
function  of  both,  although  they  may  see  the  reverse  exemplified  in 
individuals  who  hear  or  see  well  with  one  ear  or  one  eye,  after  that 
of  the  opposite  side  has  been  destroyed. 

The  brain  has  been  considered  by  many  physiologists,  and  par- 
ticularly by  those  of  them  who  are  hostile  to  Phrenology,  to  be  a 
single  organ,  every  part  of  which  concurs  in  executing  a  single 
function,  viz.  that  of  manifesting  the  mind;  but  so  far  from  support- 
ing their  own  conclusions,  the  cases  referred  to,  if  true,  are  direct- 
ly subversive  of  them,  and  leave  no  choice,  except  between  the 
phrenological  doctrine  of  a  plurality  of  cerebral  organs,  and  the 
notion  that  the  brain,  the  most  delicate,  the  best  protected,  and 
apparently  the  most  important  organ  of  the  body,  is,  after  all,  a 
mere  useless  incumbrance,  or  at  most,  a  mere  mass  fitted  into  a 
case,  and  placed  at  the  top  of  the  neck,  more  for  the  sake  of  orna- 
ment, or  of  preserving  equilibrium,  than  for  any  more  rational 
purpose ;  a  conclusion  which,  however  logically  deducible  from 
their  own  premises,  they  would,  I  am  satisfied,  be  fully  more 
averse  to  admit  than  the  truth  of  Phrenology  itself.  The  phren- 
ological doctrine  is,  indeed,  the  only  one  by  which  these  facts, 
so  far  as  they  are  true,  are  at  all  explicable ;  for  the  moment 
we  can  prove,  not  only  that  the  brain  consists  of  two  halves  or 
hemispheres,  but  that  each  half  is  a  congeries  of  parts  perform- 
ing distinct  functions,  all  difficulty  disappears,  and  the  phenomena 
become  consistent  with  the  ordinary  laws  of  nature.  We  then  see 
how  one  side  or  one  part  may  be  wounded  or  diseased,  without 
involving  the  functions  of  the  opposite  side,  or  of  the  other  parts, 
just  as  one  eye  may  be  put  out  without  destroying  the  function  of 
the  other,  and  the  organ  of  one  sense,  sight  for  example,  be  injured 
or  destroyed,  while  the  organs  of  all  the  others  remain  sound. 


INJURIES   OF   THE  BRAIN.  609 

Upon  the  same  principle,  it  will  be  evident,  that,  before  we  can 
expect  complete  loss  of  any  one  faculty,  the  entire  organ  of  both 
sides  must  be  destroyed, — a  fact  which  has  been  altogether  over- 
looked by  the  objectors.  For  it  will  be  seen  upon  an  attentive 
examination  of  the  cases  quoted,  that  not  a  single  instance  is 
recorded  in  which  this  destruction  of  both  organs  has  occurred^ 
while  the  alleged  manifestations  existed.  In  almost  all  the  cases, 
the  injury  or  disease  is  expressly  said  to  be  on  one  side  only ;  and 
where  it  is  on  both,  .the  parts  affected  implicate  different  organs. 
But  this  will  be  better  understood  by  an  abstract  of  the  cases 
themselves,  as  they  are  recorded  in  the  Manchester  Memoirs  and 
in  the  Edinburgh  Review.  In  perusing  them,  I  beg  the  reader's 
attention  to  the  vagueness  of  the  information  which  they  offer  in 
regard  to  the  integrity  of  the  mental  faculties,  and  also  to  the 
extent  and  nature  of  the  cerebral  injuries. 

Mr.  Earle  relates  the  case  of  a  man  luhose  sensibility  remained 
unaffected  till  within  a  few  hours  of  his  death,  although  an  abscess 
occupied  nearly  one-third  of  the  right  hemisphere.  Mr.  Aberne- 
thy  saw  a  gentleman  who  lived  for  two  years  in  the  full  possession  of 
every  faculty,  notwithstanding  a  cavity  two  inches  broad  by  one  long 
in  the  right  hemisphere.  Another  was  perfectly  sensible  with  an 
abscess  in  the  left  hemisphere.  Sir  John  Pringle*  found  an 
abscess  in  the  right  hemisphere,  as  large  as  an  egg,  in  a  patient 
"  who  had  never  been  delirious,  nor  altogether  insensible;  "  and 
in  another,  "  loho  had  never  been  so  insensible  as  not  to  answer 
reasonably  when  spoken  to,"  he  found  an  abscess  in  the  cerebel- 
lum as  large  as  a  pigeon's  egg.  Dr.  Ferriar  says  that  Dr.  Hunter 
found  the  whole  of  the  right  hemisphere  destroyed  by  suppuration, 
in  a  man  who  retained  his  faculties  to  the  last.  One  of  Wepfer's 
patients  manifested  no  loss  of  sensibility,  although  a  cyst  was  found 
in  the  right  hemisphere  of  the  brain  as  large  as  a  hen's  egg. 
Diemerbroek  saw  a  young  man  who  received  a  thrust  from  a 
sword,  which  entered  at  the  eye,  and  passed  upwards  through  the 
n^g-Zif  ventricle,  as  far  as  the  sagittal  suture.  During  ten  days  he 
'■'■remained  quite  loell,"  with  no  loss  of  sensibility,  of  voluntary 

*  Diseases  of  the  Army,  p.  259. 

■  77 


610  OBJECTIONS. 

motion,  or  of  judgment,  "cum  sociis  convenienter,  et  bono  cum 
judicio,  quacunque  de  re  disserens;"  after  which  he  was  cut  off 
by  a  fever.  Petit  *  saw  a  soldier,  shot  through  the  left  lobe  of 
the  cerebellum  and  left  posterior  lobe  of  the  brain,  live  forty-three 
hours,  whose  faculties  were  perfect  to  the  last.  Another  man, 
mentioned  by  Quesnai  as  seen  by  Bagieu,  received  a  musket-shot 
from  below  upwards  through  the  right  anterior  lobe,  who  had  no 
bad  symptom  till  the  twelfth  day,  and  ultimately  recovered.  Next 
are  mentioned  three  cases;  in  the  first  of  which  a  ball,  in  the 
second  the  end  of  a  stiletto,  in  the  third  a  part  of  a  knife,  remained 
in  the  brain  without  inconvenience  for  some  years,  (lenga  tells  us 
of  a  man  who,  from  a  blow  on  the  left  parietal  and  occipital  bones, 
lost  a  portion  of  brain  as  large  as  a  pigeon's  egg,  and  yet  recovered. 
Petit  saw  a  man  with  a  corpus  striatum  converted  into  a  matter 
like  dregs  of  wine,  with  no  loss  of  sensibility,  although  one  side 
was  paralyzed.  Valsalva  saw  an  old  man  who  was  not  insensible, 
with  an  abscess  of  the  right  thalamus  opticus  extending  to  the  surface 
of  the.  brain.  Then  come  some  cases  of  diseased  pineal  gland  and 
cerebellum,  without  loss  of  sensibility .  The  Reviewer  then  speaks 
of  a  lady  who  complained  for  a  fortnight  of  an  affection  of  the 
head,  became  comatose,  and  died.  "The  day  before  her  death 
she  was  capable  of  being  roused  from  her  stupor,  and  was  then  in 
full  possession  of  all  her  senses.^'  The  left  hemisphere  of  the 
cerebellum  was  converted  into  pus.  Then  follows  a  case  from 
La  Peyronie,  nearly  similar,  without  loss  of  sensibility.  Drelin- 
curtius  f  saw  a  steatomatous  tumor  as  large  as  the  fist  between  the 
cerebrum  and  cerebellum,  produce  first  blindness,  then  deafness, 
and  at  last  the  aboUtion  "  omnium  sensuum  et  functionum  anima- 
lium,  et  necem  ipsam."  Dr.  Tyson:]:  mentions  a  case  where  the 
left  hemisphere  of  the  cerebellum  was  found  sphacelated,  and  the 
testis  of  that  side  enlarged  and  stony.  The  patient  had  been  ill 
two  months,  and  for  the  most  part  rational.  In  the  Memoires  de 
I'Acad.  Royale,  1703,  Duverney  relates  a  case  of  extensive  injury, 
without  loss  of  sensibility.     The  Chevalier  Colbert  received  a  blow 

*  Memoires  de  I'Acad.  1748.         t  Addend,  ad  Wepfer,  Hist.  Apop.  Obs.  83. 
t  Phil.  Trans.  No.  228 


INJURIES   OF   THE   BRAIN.  611 

from  a  stone  upon  the  temple,  which  drove  in  the  bones  forming 
tlie  back  part  of  the  orbit,  as  well  as  the  sella  turcica.  The  infe- 
rior portion  of  the  middle  lobe  of  the  brain,  as  far  as  the  cerebel- 
lum, was  found  broken  down,  and  partly  in  a  suppurating  state. 
He  lived  seven  days,  "retained  his  judgment  perfectly,  continued 
to  perform  all  his  functions,  and  exhibited  a  surprising  tranquillity  of 
mind  till  his  death."  Ferriar  attaches  httle  importance  to  this  case, 
as  confused.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  cases,  is  that  quoted  by 
the  Reviewer  from  Planque,  and  by  Dr.  Ferriar  from  La  Peyro- 
nie, as  having  occurred  to  Billot.*  A  boy  of  six  years  received  a 
pistol-shot  in  the  middle  of  the  brow,  which  passed  through  to 
the  occiput.  He  survived  eighteen  days,  and  lost  a  portion  of 
brain  as  large  as  a  nutmeg  daily,  and  yet  remained  quite  well  until 
within  a  few  hours  of  his  death.  The  portion  of  brain,  found 
remaining  in  the  skull,  did  not  exceed  the  size  of  a  small  egg. 

The  Reviewer  then  quotes  three  cases  of  hydrocephalus  internus, 
or  water  in  the  head,  which  convince  him  that  sensibility  may 
remain  after  the  whole  brain  has  been  destroyed. 

Many  of  the  Reviewer's  cases  are  taken  from  Dr.  Ferriar's 
paper  in  the  Manchester  Memoirs.  I  shall,  therefore,  select  the 
most  interesting  of  those  which  he  has  omitted.  Diemerobrekf 
quotes  a  case  from  Lindanus,  of  a  patient  receiving  a  wound  in 
one  of  the  lateral  ventricles,  who  went  about  as  usual  for  fourteen 
days,  and  then  died.  His  surgeon  thrust  a  probe  into  the  ventricle 
every  day,  without  exciting  any  sensation.  He  says  f  he  saw  a 
woman  v^'ho  lost  a  portion  of  brain  as  large  as  the  fist,  from  a  frac- 
ture of  the  right  side.  She  lived  thirty-six  days  without  alienation 
of  the  mind,  although  paralytic  on  the  opposite  side.  In  the-  ap- 
pendix to  Wepfer's  Hist.  Apoplect.,  Dr.  Brunner  mentions  a  case 
of  a  drunken  blacksmith,  aged  sixty-four,  who  died  of  apoplexy, 
whose  faculties  were  rather  excited  than  impaired,  although  he 
observed,  after  death,  "piam  matrem  aqua  turgidissimam. — Ablata 
dura  matre  serum  perpetim  exsudavit  et  effluxit  limpidum.  Uter- 
que  ventriculus  aqua  scatebat  turbida,  quin  omnes  recessus  et 
cerebri  cavitates  hac  inundatse  et  repletee  fuerunt.  Cerebellum 
*  Mem.  de  I'Acad.  1741.  t  Anat.  lib.  iii.  p.  637.  t  Page  580-1 


612  OBJECTIONS. 

minime  flaccidum,  sed  sicut  reliquse  cerebri  partes  firraum  apparuit, 
&c.  He  was  rather  acute  in  his  intellect  towards  the  end.  La 
Peyronie  mentions  a  case  of  a  man  who  had  been  troubled  with 
hypochondriacal  symptoms  for  ten  years,  whose  faculties  were 
never  affected,  although  the  fourth  ventricle  and  cerebellum  were 
found  diseased.  A  girl  died  in  the  fourth  month  of  an  arthritic 
complaint,  with  evident  symptoms  of  oppresed  brain,  but  in  perfect 
possession  of  her  intellectual  powers,  although  the  brain  was  soft 
and  water  effused.  Bonnet  saw  a  case,  where,  after  eleven  days' 
illness,  and,  only  towards  the  end,  occasional  alienation  of  mind, 
"  tota  fere  basis  cerebri,  imprimis  cerebellum,  et  ea  pars  medullse 
spinalis  quae  primis  vertebris  excipitur,  sphacelo  inventse  sunt 
correptse." 

Dr.  Ferriar  concludes,  by  quoting  from  Ambrose  Pare,  what  he 
considers  a  most  extraordinary  case  ;  but  Fare's  authority  being 
very  great,  he  thinks  it  merits  confidence."  It  is  that  of  the  Due 
de  Guise,  "  who  was  wounded  in  the  head  by  the  thrust  of  a  lance, 
which  entered  under  the  right  eye,  near  the  nose,  and  came  out 
at  the  neck,  between  the  ear  and  the  vertebrae.  The  steel  remain- 
ed in  the  brain,  was  extracted  with  great  difficulty,  and  the  patient 
recovered."      Such  are  the  principal  cases. 

The  farther  removed  an  account  is  from  what  we  are  accustomed 
to  observe  in  ordinary  circumstances,  the  stronger  is  the  evidence 
required,  before  we  can  believe  it,  and  inversely.  So,  in  the 
present  instance,  when  we  find  almost  all  the  cases  mentioned, 
consisting  of  very  partial  injury  of  one  side  only  of  the  brain,  with 
no  striking  disturbance  of  intellect,  we  are  not  disposed  to  be 
scrupulous  in  admitting  them  to  be  true.  We  see  such  things 
occur  in  our  own  day,  and  they  are,  in  themselves,  sufficiently 
probable  ;  seeing  that  the  organs  are  double,  and  that  one  may  be 
affected  without  the  other  participating  in  the  injury  ;  and  that  the 
organs  of  the  intellectual  faculties  constitute  so  small  a  portion  of 
the  brain,  as  to  leave  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  whole  mass  to  be 
destroyed  on  both  sides,  without  necessarily  interfering  with  the 
intellect.  But  vA-ien  we  come  to  such  cases  as  that  of  the  boy, 
who  is  said  to  have  lost  all  his  brain  excepting  "  about  the  bulk  of 


INJURIES  OF  THE  BRAIN.  613 

on  eg^,"  and  yet  ^^  remained  quite  toe/Z"  till  within  a  few  hours 
of  his  death,  we  are  compelled  to  pause,  and  ask  for  stronger 
evidence  than  that  afforded  by  a  quotation  at  third  hand  of  a  single 
case.  Neither  the  Reviewer  nor  Dr.  Ferriar  appear  to  have  seen 
Billot's  own  account  of  it,  since  each  has  quoted  from  a  different 
source  ;  and  not  having  been  able  to  procure  the  original  work, 
I  know  not  whether  it  is  correctly  quoted  by  either.  But  it 
one  such  case  could  be  made  out  by  incontestable  evidence,  it 
would  not  only  lay  prostrate  the  whole  fabric  of  Phrenology,  but  it 
would  save  us  a  great  deal  of  time  and  useless  labor  at  present 
spent  in  trjnng  to  find  out  the  functions  of  a  part,  which,  according 
to  this  account,  could  not  possibly  have  any ;  and,  therefore,  when 
we  see  the  whole  body  of  physiologists  persevering  in  their  en- 
deavors to  discover  the  uses  of  the  brain,  with  as  much  zeal  and 
earnestness  as  if  no  such  case  had  ever  been  heard  of,  the  only 
conclusion  which  we  can  legitimately  draw  is,  that  they,  hostile  as 
most  of  them  are  to  Phrenology,  have  just  as  little  faith  in  the 
accuracy  of  the  details  as  the  phrenologists  themselves  ;  and  if  they 
disregard  the  story  as  unworthy  of  credit,  we  have  surely,  at  least, 
an  equal  right  to  pursue  a  similar  course,  and  to  withhold  our 
belief.  In  like  manner,  when  we  are  told,  as  in  the  three  cases 
alluded  to  by  the  Reviewer,  of  the  faculties  remaining  entire  after 
the  complete  destruction  of  the  brain  by  water,  we  are  entitled 
to  require  evidence  of  no  ordinary  force  before  giving  credit  to 
their  truth,  more  especially  since  the  late  discoveries  by  Gall  and 
Spurzheim  of  the  structure  of  the  brain,  show  the  fallacy  of  the 
appearances  commented  upon  as  indicating  the  absence  of  that 
organ. 

Out  of  the  twenty-nine  cases  here  quoted  from  different  authors, 
eighteen  expressly  refer  to  injury  of  one  side  only.  These  require 
no  remarks  ;  for,  granting  that  none  of  the  faculties  were  lost,  there 
still  remained  the  sound  organs  of  the  opposite  side  to  execute  the 
functions.  Five  more  expressly  refer  to  injury  or  disease  of  the 
cerebellum  and  fourth  ventricle,  parts  which  have  no  immediate 
connexion  with  the  exercise  of  the  intellectual  facuhies,  which 
alone   are  mentioned.     In  two,    the  side  is  not    mentioned.     In 


614  OBJECTIONS. 

three  more,  the  lohole  brain  was  extant,  but  ahered  in  appearance  , 
and,  lastly,  comes  the  case  par  excellence,  in  which  the  brain 
had  almost  disappeared,  and  which,  if  admitted,  would  undoubtedly 
bury  Phrenology  and  its  opponents  in  one  common  ruin.  Some 
of  these  demand  a  few  observations. 

In  Dr.  Brunner's  case  of  the  drunken  blacksmith,  who  died 
apoplectic,  the  whole  of  the  brain  was  still  extant  at  his  death  ; 
but  a  quantity  of  water  was  found  effused  upon  it ;  notwith- 
standing which,  he  not  only  retained  his  faculties,  but  was  even 
more  acute.  "  Cerebellum  minime  flaccidum,  sed  sicut  reliquse 
cerebri  partes  firmum  apparuit."  This  is  the  consequence  of  a 
certain  degree  of  inflammation,  which,  in  the  case  of  the  brain,  as 
well  as  in  that  of  other  organs,  often  exalts  instead  of  diminishing 
the  function.  Hence  it  proves  nothing  against  us.  The  effusion 
appears  to  have  been  the  cause  of  the  apoplexy  and  of  death. 

In  the  hypochondriacal  patient,  already  referred  to,  even  sup- 
posing all  the  faculties  to  have  been  unimpaired,  the  visible  seat  of 
the  disease  was  confined  to  the  cerebellum  and  fourth  ventricle, 
and  did  not  extend  to  the  organs  of  the  intellectual  powers.  In 
Bonnet's  case  of  eleven  days'  illness,  with  occasional  alienation 
towards  the  end,  where  the  cerebellum,  part  of  the  base  of  the 
brain,  and  a  portion  of  the  medulla  spinalis,  were  mortified, 
"  sphacelo  inventse  sunt  correptse,"  the  part  of  the  base  of  the 
brain  is  not  mentioned ;  and,  therefore,  no  conclusion  can  be 
drawn  in  favor  of  any  of  the  organs  of  the  intellectual  faculties 
having  been  even  partially  destroyed  ;  and,  besides,  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  the  sphacelus  not  to  have  existed  for  any  length 
of  time,  but  to  have  been  the  immediate  forerunner  of  death. 

Lastly,  Although  what  Dr.  Ferriar  calls  the  very  extraordinary 
case  of  the  Due  de  Guise,  be  included  in  the  eighteen  cases  of 
injury  of  one  side  only,  it  is  deserving  of  particular  attention.  The 
lance  entered  under  the  right  eye,  near  the  nose,  and  came  out 
at  the  neck  between  the  ear  and  vertebrae.  The  steel,  it  is  said, 
remained  in  the  brain,  was  extracted  with  difficulty,  end  recovery 
followed.  The  state  of  the  faculties  is  not  even  mentioned.  In 
this  case,  he  says,  the  base  of  the  brain  must  have  been  exten- 


INJURIES    OF   THE    BRAIN.  615 

sively  injured.  I  humbly  apprehend,  however,  that  the  brain  was 
not,  and  could  not  be  touched.  Let  any  one  examine  on  the 
Hving,  or  on  the  dead  subject,  the  direction  of  such  a  wound,  and 
he  will  instanriy  agree  with  rae  in  opinion,  and  will  then  be  at  no 
loss  to  account  for  the  difficulty  of  extracting  the  steel.  Having 
seen  it  stated  in  Beyer's  Traite  des  Maladies  Chirurgicales,  that 
the  spear  entered  above  the  eye,  I  procured  the  original  work  of 
Ambrose  Pdre,  and  found  that  Dr.  Ferriar  was  right  in  saying  that 
it  entered  under  the  eye.  But  Pare  never  once  mentions  either 
brain  or  faculty.  He  says,  "  The  head  of  the  lance  stuck  so  fast 
as  to  require  a  pair  of  smith's  pincers  for  its  extraction.  Although 
the  violence  of  the  blow  was  so  great,  that  it  could  not  be  without 
fracture  of  the  bones,  a  tearing  and  breaking  of  the  nerves,  veins 
and  arteries,  and  other  parts,  yet  the  generous  Prince,  by  the 
favor  of  God,  recovered."  p.  235,  lib.  x.  Although  the  state  of 
the  faculties  is  not  mentioned  by  Dr.  Ferriar,  I  remember  to  have 
read  in  some  French  historical  author,  that  the  Duke  bore  the 
extraction  with  great  fortitude,  and  retained  his  faculties  apparently 
undiminished,  and  the  above  quotation  accounts  perfectly  for  the 
fact;  for  it  shows  that  the  brain  was  not  in  the  least  affected,  the 
wound  being  altogether  below  it.  In  the  dase  of  the  Chevalier 
Colbert,  also,  Dr.  Ferriar  says,  the  eye  was  crushed  to  pieces, 
and  the  orbit  knocked  in  ;  which  misapprehension  must  have 
arisen  from  the  confused  account  given  by  the  original  author 
Duverney ;  for,  in  point  of  fact,  the  stone  struck  the  temple,  and 
not  the  front  of  the  eye. 

Little  confidence  can,  at  any  time,  be  placed  in  the  history  of 
dissections,  made  only  to  discover  the  cause  of  death,  when  after- 
wards apphed  to  physiological  purposes.  The  surgeon,  who  has 
been  in  the  habit  of  seeing  numerous  dissections,  and  particularly 
in  hospital  practice,  made  with  this  object  alone  in  view,  knows 
well  how  very  general  the  examination  of  the  diseased  parts 
frequently  is,  even  when  seated  in  organs  whose  structure  and 
functions  are  both  known;  and  this  observation  naturally  applies 
with  double  force  to  parts  so  little  known  as  those  contained  in 
the  cavity  of  the  cranium.     The  Edinburgh  Reviewer  himself,  in 


616  OBJECTIONS. 

speaking  of  some  parts  (such  as  the  corpus  callosum,  fornix,  &c.,) 
which  have  not  been  expressly  mentioned  as  destroyed,  says,  p. 
446,  "We  believe,  indeed,  that  several,  if  not  the  whole  of  them, 
were  actually  destroyed  in  the  cases  we  have  quoted ;  but  that  they 
were  omitted  in  the  detail  of  the  dissection,  either  from  a  fear  of 
being  tedious,  or  because  the  authors  did  not  conceive  minuteness 
of  description  to  be  an  object  either  of  practical  or  physiological 
importance.  As  it  is,  however,  instances  are  still  wanting,  in 
which  the  parts  we  have  enumerated  are  expressly  stated  to  have 
been  destroyed;  and  we  beg  leave  to  call  the  attention  of  the  phy- 
siologists to  this  circumstance,"  &c.  The  phrenologists  in  like 
manner,  beg  leave  to  call  the  attention  of  the  public  to  this  cir- 
cumstance, that  instances  are  still  wanting,  in  which  any  one  of 
their  organs  is  expressly  stated  to  have  been  destroyed,  and  the 
function  to  have  remained  unimpaired. 

To  such  an  extent,  ,  indeed,  have  anatomical  structure  and 
minuteness  of  detail  been  neglected  in  the  history  of  the  diseases 
and  injuries  of  the  cerebrum  and  cerebellum,  in  so  far  as  they  are 
connected  with  the  mind,  that  in  almost  every  instance,  the  palpable 
fact  of  the  organs  being  double  has  been  overlooked:  and  not  only 
has  no  attention  been  paid  to  the  sitiiation  of  the  individual  organs, 
in  examining  the  effects  of  their  injuries  in  relation  to.  Phrenology, 
but  it  never  has  once  been  taken  notice  of  by  the  opponents,  that, 
while  they  confine  their  attention  to  the  state  of  the  intellectual 
faculties  alone  in  all  cases  of  wounded  brain,  the  organs  of  these 
faculties,  in  the  new  system,  constitute  not  more  than  one-third  of 
the  whole  cerebral  mass,  and  that  the  other  two-thirds  constitute 
the  organs  of  the  sentiments  and  propensities,  which  are  never 
inquired  into,  as  not  being  conceived  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with 
the  brain. 

As  it  appears,  then,  notwithstanding  the  affirmations  of  the  op- 
ponents, to  be  quite  consistent  with  the  principles  of  Phrenology, 
that  injuries  of  the  brain  may  occur,  without  necessarily  affecting 
the  intellectual  faculties,  I  might,  perhaps,  here  safely  drop  the 
subject.  Before  quitting  it,  however,  we  may  shortly  inquire  how 
far  the  cases  referred  to    coincide,  or  are    compatible   with   the 


INJURIES   OF  THE  BRAIN.     *  617 

doctrines  which  the  opponents  themselves  profess.  Many  of  them 
teach,  for  example,  that  the  whole  brain  is  the  organ  of  mind,  and 
that  every  part  of  it  is  engaged  in  every  act  of  thought.  Now,  it 
seems  to  nie,  that  their  own  cases  are  fatal  to  any  such  theory;  for 
as  the  brain  is  subject  to  all  the  ordinary  laws  of  animal  organiza- 
tion, were  any  part  of  that  general  organ  injured,  the  function,  even 
according  to  their  own  account,  ought  always  to  be  impaired  in 
proportion.  Instead  of  which,  they  tell  us,  that  the  function  which 
they  believe  it  to  execute,  does  not  suffer  with  almost  total  destruc- 
tion of  the  organ  !  No  other  part  of  the  human  body  is  known 
to, retain  its  functions  unimpaired,  amidst  total  or  partial  change, 
or  destruction  of  its  structure;  and,  therefore,  had  they  not  been 
blinded  by  preconceived  opinions,  they  must  have  perceived  that 
the  very  circumstance  of  the  brain  being  partially  injured,  without 
any  considerable  derangement  of  intellect,  was  sufficient  to  prove 
that  every  part  of  that  organ  was  not  necessary  to  every  individual 
act  of  mind,  and  that  the  brain  was  not  the  single  organ  they  be- 
heved  it  to  be. 

Phrenology,  or  the  doctrine  of  a  plurahty  of  organs  and  faculties, 
alone  satisfactorily  explains  the  apparent  contradiction,  by  showing 
that  the  state  of  one  organ,  or  part  of  the  brain,  does  not  neces- 
sai'ily  affect  the  condition  and  functions  of  the  others,  and  thus 
the  phrenologist,  who  considers  particular  parts  of  the  brain  to  be 
the  organs  of  distinct  mental  faculties,  may  be  quite  consistent  in 
believing,  that  one  of  these  organs,  and  the  faculty  with  which  it 
is  connected,  may  be  wounded  and  impaired  without  necessarily 
inducing  any  diminution  or  alteration  in  the  functions  of  the  others; 
and  as  he  thinks  it  proved,  that  two-thirds  of  the  brain  constitute 
the  organs  of  the  propensities  and  sentiments,  he  may  still  be  quite 
consistent  in  believing,  that  large  portions  of  these  two-thirds,  even 
on  both  sides,  may  be  injured  without  necessarily  disturbing,  in  any 
high  degree,  the  intellectual  operations  carried  on  by  the  remaining 
sound  third,  which  he  has  previously  ascertained  to  constitute  the 
organs  of  the  intellectual  faculties.  But  the  opponent,  who  be- 
lieves in  the  unity  of  the  brain,  is  very  differently  circumstanced, 
and  can  no  more  account  for  the  intellect  continuing  unimpaired, 
78 


618  OBJECTIONS. 

after  the  destruction  of  any  part,  than  he  could  for  sight  remaining 
unaffected  by  disease,  or  destruction  of  the  eye.  What,  then,  are 
we  to  think  of  the  consistency  of  those  philosophers,  who,  like 
Dr.  Ferriar,  in  one  page  gravely  doubt  whether  the  brain  has  not 
been  altogether  destroyed,  without  loss  of  mental  faculties  ;  and  yet 
in  another  declare  that  they  consider,  as  he  does,  "  these  medical 
facts  as  almost  demonstrating  that  the  brain  is  the  instrument, — 
not  the  cause,  of  the  reasoning  powers.''  "  We,  too,  consider  the 
brain  as  the  instrument  of  the  mental  faculties;  but  we  are  not  so 
inconsistent  as  to  suppose,  that  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  the 
manifestations  of  these  faculties,  whether  that  instrument  be  a  whole 
or  a  broken  one,  or  have  even  altogether  ceased  to  exist.  We 
farther  consider  that  Phrenology,  so  far  from  having  any  thing  to 
fear  from  these  "medical  facts,"  derives  additional  confirmation 
from  them,  since  it  is  upon  phrenological  principles  alone  that  they 
are  either  explicable  or  consistent  with  any  of  the  known  laws  of 
nature.  It  is  in  such  circumstances  that  the  new  science  rises  so 
far  superior  to  any  theory  of  the  mind  hitherto  invented;  and  it 
can  only  be  from  its  being  founded  on  the  solid  basis  of  truth,  that 
it  is  ever  so  beautifully  and  simply  consistent  with  the  observed 
phenomena  of  mind,  alike  in  a  state  of  health  and  of  disease. 

I  proceed,  before  concluding  the  subject,  (being  in  some  meas- 
ure connected  with  the  present  essay,)  to  make  a  few  observations 
on  a  mode  of  investigating  the  functions  of  the  individual  parts  of 
the  brain,  proposed  by  that  excellent  surgeon  Sir  E.  Home,*  and 
differing  widely  from  that  in  use  among  the  phrenologists.  "  The 
various  attempts,"  says  he,  "  which  have  been  made  to  procure 
accurate  information  respecting  the  functions  that  belong  to  individ- 
ual portions  of  the  human  brain,  having  been  attended  with  very 
little  success,  it  has  occurred  to  me,  that  were  anatomical  surgeons 
to  collect,  in  one  view,  all  the  appearances  they  had  met  with,  in 
cases  of  injury  of  that  organ,  and  of  the  effects  that  such  injuries 
produced  upon  its  functions,  a  body  of  evidence  might  be  formed, 
tnat  would  materially  advance  this  highly  important  investigation." 

As  this  mode  of  inquiry  is  still  looked  upon  by   many  as  the 
*  Philosophical  Transactions  for  1814,  p.  469. 


INJURIES  OF  THE  BRAIN.  619 

most  promising  and  philosophical  that  has  yet  been  tried,  and  as 
such  is  recommended  by  the  Edinburgh  Review,  it  may  be  worth 
while  to  see  what  it  is  really  able  to  effect.  To  me  it  appears  to 
be  totally  inadequate  to  the  purposes  of  original  discovery,  although 
it  may  be  usefully  employed  to  procure  additional  information, 
after  the  functions  of  the  different  parts  of  the  brain  have  been 
ascertained  by  other  means. 

The  defects  of  this  mode  of  investigation,  are,  Isf,  That  so  long 
as  we  remain  unacquainted  with  the  situation  and  limits  of  the 
different  cerebral  organs,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  pronounce, 
whether,  in  any  given  case,  one  only,  or  several,  are  implicated ; 
and  also,  whether  the  destruction  of  any  organ  is  partial  or  com- 
plete. 

2dly.)  That  so  long  as  we  remain  ignorant  of  the  number  and 
functions  of  the  mental  faculties,  and  of  the  effects  of  their  various 
combinations  with  each  other,  we  are  necessarily  unable  to  decide 
in  any  case,  what  particular  faculty  or  quality  of  mind  has  been 
impaired  or  destroyed.  Some  faculties,  for  instance,  require  the 
presence  of  such  external  objects  for  their  operation,  as  are  not 
to  be  found  in  the  chambers  of  the  sick,  or  in  the  wards  of  an 
hospital ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  possible  that  the  power  may  be 
altogether  destroyed,  and  yet  its  absence  may  not  even  be  sus- 
pected by  the  surgeon  or  his  attendants,  who  never  were  aware 
of  its  existence  as  an  independent  faculty,  even  when  the  brain  was 
entire. 

3rfZt/,  That  the  complex  and  delicate  structure  of  the  brain 
makes  it  exceedingly  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  injure  or 
destroy  one  part  without  the  neighboring  parts,  and  the  functions 
which  they  perform,  participating  in  a  greater  or  less  degree. 
Thus,  Professor  Rolando  of  Turin,  who  has  devoted  much  of  his 
time  to  the  study  of  the  anatomy  and  functions  of  the  brain,  in 
speaking  of  mutilations,  which  he  had  performed  with  a  view  to 
discover  the  functions  of  a  particular  part  of  that  organ  in  the 
lower  animals,  complains  of  this  as  an  almost  unsurmountable 
obstacle.  "  I  have  made,"  says  he,  "  innumerable  experiments 
to  discover  the  results  of  injuries  done  to  the  bigeminal  tubercles, 


620  OBJECTIONS. 

and  the  parts  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  optic  thalami,  but  1  have 
rarely  obtained  consistent  results;  which  is  not  surprising,  if  we 
consider  the  peculiar  interlacing  of  the  numerous  riiedullary  fibres 
which  meet  in  these  parts;  for,  as  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  know 
what  bundles  of  fibres  have  been  affected  in  these  operations,  we 
cannot  draw  clear  and  precise  conclusions  where  there  is  a  difter- 
ence  in  the  result."  If  this  holds  true  with  regard  to  mutilations 
performed  with  every  precaution  to  avoid  wounding  other  parts, 
and  under  every  advantage  which  an  acquaintance  with  anatomy 
can  afford,  it  certainly  applies  with  tenfold  force  to  injuries,  the 
results  of  accidental  and  unguided  violence. 

Lastly-,  That,  from  the  mere  aspect  of  the  wound,  we  are  never 
certain  of  the  precise  extent  of  the  injury  done  to  the  brain  ;  and, 
consequently,  can  never  positively  refer  the  phenomena  to  an 
affection  of  any  particular  part,  and  of  it  alone.  One  injury,  for 
instance,  apparently  of  the  very  slightest  nature,  often  produces 
the  most  serious  constitutional  symptoms,  and  disturbance  of  the 
whole  mind ;  while  another,  to  appearance  much  more  severe,  is 
productive  of  little  inconvenience.  In  the  former,  the  effects  of 
the  violence  seem  to  extend  either  immediately  or  from  sympathy 
over  the  whole  brain,  or  at  least,  much  farther  than  its  external  or 
visible  seat,  while,  in  the  latter,  the  affection  is  more  strictly  of  a 
local  nature;  and  thus  the  results  obtained  in  one  case  are  often 
entirely  negatived  by  those  obtained  in  another. 

In  accordance  with,  and  in  corroboration  of  the  opinion  which  I 
have  here  ventured  to  express,  as  to  the  total  inadequacy  of  this 
mode  of  investigation  for  the  purposes  of  original  discovery,  I  would 
ask  no  better  authority  than  Sir  E.  Home  himself.  For  although, 
for  the  sake  of  greater  accuracy,  he  confines  himself  to  cases  which 
have  come  under  his  own  immediate  notice,  and,  although  these 
must  have  been  observed  with  a  view  specially  to  this  inquiry;  yet, 
his  own  essay  on  this  subject  afibrds  the  most  convincing  proof 
and  apposite  illustration  of  all  the  defects  of  the  mode  which  it  is 
written  to  recommend.  The  first  things,  for  example,  that  strike 
the  reader  on  referring  to  it,  are,  1st,  That  out  of  the  ten  classes, 
into  which  the  cases  are  purposely  divided  by  Sir  Everard,  no 


INJURIES  OF  THE  BRAIN.  621 

less  than  seven,  (1.  Undue  pressure  of  water  on  the  brain,  2.  Con- 
cussion of  the  brain,  3.  Preternaturally  dilated  or  diseased  blood- 
vessels of  the  brain,  4.  Extravasated  blood,  5.  Formation  of  pus, 
6.  Depression  or  thickening  of  parts  of  the  skull,  7.  Pressure  from 
tumors,)  resolve  themselves  into  affections,  in  which  the  totality 
of  the  brain  is,  in  some  way  or  another,  concerned ;  2tZ,  That, 
in  one,  (viz.  8.  Injury  of  the  medulla  spinalis, )  the  entire  brain 
is  unaffected;  and,  3dly,  That  in  two  only,  (9.  Injury  to  the 
substance  of  the  brain;  and,  10.  Alteration  of  structure,)  is  the 
affection  generally  confined  to  individual  portions  of  that  organ  ; 
although  in  very  many  instances,  even  in  these  two  classes,  it 
extends  over  the  whole  brain.  From  his  own  statement,  then,  the 
reader  would  naturally  anticipate  a  priori,  that  the  effects  resulting 
from  most  of  these  injuries  would  be  such  as  are  known  to  indi- 
cate derangement,  not  of  one,  or  of  several,  but  of  all  the  parts 
of  the  brain ;  and,  consequently,  that  they  could  not,  by  any  possi- 
bility, lead  to  the  discovery  wished  for,  of  the  functions  of  its 
individual  portions.  Accordingly,  Sir  Everard  himself  informs 
us,  that  the  effects  produced  are,  delirium,  convulsions,  coma, 
apoplexy,  sickness,  watching,  and  the  like,  and  not  lesion  of  any 
particular  faculty,  or  of  any  individual  function.  In  one  or  two 
instances,  indeed,  the  state  of  the  memory  and  of  the  external 
senses  is  mentioned,  but  without  being  connected  in  any  way  with 
specific  injury.  The  reviewer  himself,  with  every  wish  to  be 
pleased  with  Sir  Eveiard's  method,  is  constrained  to  say,  that  the 
results  obtained  in  this  manner  are  so  vague  and  contradictory,  that 
they  "  serve  only  to  confirm  what  had  already  perhaps  been  suffi- 
ciently made  out  by  the  authors  we  have  named;  to-wit,  that  there 
is  no  sort  of  uniformity  either  in  the  kind  or  degree  of  the  symp- 
toms which  accompany  diseases  of  the  brain."  And  in  this 
sentiment  I  cordially  concur  wdth  him,  in  so  far  as  regards  violent 
injuries. 

To  render  the  results  obtained,  either  from  observing  the  effects 
of  cerebral  injuries  in  man,  or  from  the  performance  of  mutilations 
upon  the  brains  of  animals,  at  all  valuable  in  illustrating  the  cere- 
bral physiology,  a  previous  knowledge  of  the  seats  of  the  organs. 


622  INJURIES  OF  THE  BRAIN. 

and  of  the  nature  of  the  facuhies  which  they  subserve,  has  been 
already  shown  to  be  an  indispensable  requisite  ;  and  if  we  suppose 
these  to  have  been  accurately  ascertained  by  other  means,  then 
the  facility  of  making  interesting  and  precise  physiological  and 
pathological  observations  is  so  greatly  increased,  that  much  valua- 
ble information  may  be  obtained ;  especially  in  some  individual 
cases,  in  the  two  last  mentioned  classes  of  Sir  E.  Home.  But 
without  this  preliminary  knowledge  to  guide  us  in  our  observations, 
it  is  obvious  that  nothing  precise  or  practicable  can  be  got  at. 

If  an  injury  of  the  cerebellum,  for  example,  or  of  part  of  the 
posterior  lobes  of  the  brain,  occurs  to  a  philosopher,  who  is  firmly 
satisfied  in  his  own  mind  "that  the  whole  brain  is  engaged  in 
every  act  of  thought,"  and  that  no  part  of  it  is  appropriated  to  the 
manifestations  of  any  of  the  propensities  or  sentiments,  what  infer- 
ence can  he  draw  as  to  the  function,  upon  finding  no  intellectual 
faculty  with  which  he  is  acquainted  impaired  or  wanting?  He 
cannot  consistently  investigate  the  state  of  the  propensities,  and 
refer  any  irregularities  among  them  to  the  injury  sustained,  because 
these  are  not  intellectual  faculties,  and,  according  to  him,  have  no 
connexion  with  the  brain.  He  remains  of  necessity  as  much  in 
the  dark  as  ever.  But  let  such  a  case  occur  to  the  phrenologist, 
or  to  him  who  has  ascertained,  by  previous  observation,  the  uses 
of  the  part,  it  is  evident,  that,  although  he  could  not,  any  more  than 
the  philosopher,  infer  the  function  from  a  consideration  of  the 
symptoms  alone  ;  yet,  having  discovered  it  by  other  means,  he 
comes  to  the  inquiry  fully  competent  to  judge  whether  his  former 
observations  are  confirmed  or  refuted  by  the  phenomena  now 
before  him.  It  is  only  when  in  possession  of  this  previous  qualifi- 
cation that  we  can  derive  any  advantage  from  such  cases  in  increas- 
ing our  knowledge  of  mind. 

That  the  philosopher,  with  such  views,  could  never  have  been 
led  to  the  discovery  of  the  connexion  between  certain  parts  of  the 
brain  and  the  propensities  and  sentiments,  by  the  mere  observation 
of  their  injuries,  is  proved  by  wounds  of  these  parts  having  been 
actually  attended  with  symptoms  corresponding  to  their  phrenologi- 
cal functions,  and  neither  he  nor  the  anatomical  surgeon   having 


I 


CONCLUSION.  623 

drawn  any  such  inference.  Wounds  and  diseases  of  the  cerebel- 
lum, for  instance,  have  forced  themselves  upon  their  notice,  where 
the  sexual  propensity  was  extinguished  by  loss  of  substance,  or 
preternaturally  excited  by  the  subsequent  inflammatory  action  ;  and 
yet  no  one  drew  the.  inference  that  the  cerebellum  was  the  organ 
of  Amativeness.*  The  temper  and  moral  sentiments  have  also 
been  entirely  changed,  in  consequence  of  certain  injuries  of  the 
brain,  while  the  intellect  remained  unimpaired  ;  and  no  one  drew 
the  conclusion  that  the  parts  affected  were  the  organs  of  these 
sentiments.  Nor  would  they  have  been  warranted  in  doing  so, 
because  instances  of  injury  confined  so  entirely  to  one  part  as  to 
affect  its  function,  without  having  any  influence  upon  those  of  the 
neighboring  parts,  are  so  rare,  in  comparison  to  those  of  an  oppo- 
site kind,  that  no  just  inferences  can  be  drawn  from  them  alone  ; 
although,  combined  with  other  evidence,  they  are  highly  important. 


CONCLUSION 

(to  the  second  edition.) 

In  the  Introduction  to  this  work,  it  is  observed,  that,  "in  sur- 
veying the  philosophy  of  man,  as  at  present  exhibited  to  us  in  the 
writings  of  philosophers,  we  perceive,  first,  That  no  account  is 
given  of  the  influence  of  the  material  organs  on  the  manifestations 
of  the  mental  powers;  that  the  progress  of  the  mind  from  youth  to 
age,  and  the  phenomena  of  sleep,  dreaming,  idiocy,  and  insanity, 
are  left  unexplained  or  unaccounted  for;  secondly,  Th^t  the  exist- 
ence and  functions  of  some  of  the  most  important  primitive  facul- 
ties are  still  in  dispute  ;  and,  thirdly,  That  no  light  whatever  has 
been  thrown  on  the  nature  and  effects  of  combinations  of  the  prim- 

*  Wepferns'  HistoriEe  Apoplecticorum,  edit.  1724,  p.  487.  Magendie's  Journal 
de  Physiologie  for  April  and  August,  1822;  also  Medical  Repository,  vol.  xviii. 
p.  268 — 358. — Larrey's  Memoires  de  Chirurgie  Militaire  et  Campagncs,  vol. 
ii.  p.  150;  vol.  iii.  p.  262. 


624  CONCLUSION 

itive  powers  in  different  degrees  of  relative  proportion.  It  is  with 
great  truth,  therefore,  that  Monsieur  De  Bonald,  quoted  by  Mr. 
Stewart,  observes,  that,  "  diversity  of  doctrine  has  increased  from 
age  to  age,  with  the  number  of  masters,  and  with  the  progress  of 
knowledge  ;  and  Europe,  which  at  present  possesses  libraries  filled 
with  philosophical  works,  and  which  reckons  up  almost  as  many 
philosophers  as  writers  ;  poor  in  the  midst  of  so  much  riches,  and 
uncertain,  with  the  aid  of  all  its  guides,  which  road  it  should  fol- 
low ;  Europe,  the  centre  and  focus  of  all  the  lights  of  the  world, 
has  yet  its  philosophy  only  in  expectation." 

May  I  hope  that  Phrenology  will  now  appear  to  the  attentive 
reader  calculated  to  supply  the  deficiency  here  pointed  out,  and  to 
furnish  Europe,  at  last,  with  the  Philosophy  so  long  in  expectation.'' 

Hitherto  the  writings  of  Dr.  Gall  have  been  little  known  to  the 
British  public,  except  through  the  medium  of  hostile  reviews  ;  and 
the  most  unmeasured  ridicule  and  abuse  have  been  poured  out 
against  them,  as  if  they  were  a  disgrace  to  the  century  in  which 
they  were  produced  ;  his  fellow  laborer  Dr.  Spurzheim  has  sus- 
tained an  equal  share  of  this  unmerited  storm.  In  preparing  the 
present  volume  for  the  press,  I  have  drawn  largely  from  the  works 
of  both  of  these  founders  of  the  science  ;  in  many  instances  I  have 
compared  their  statements  of  fact  with  nature  ;  sifted  their  argu- 
ments, and  weighed  deliberately  their  conclusions  ;  and  I  now  feel 
it  an  imperious  duty  to  state,  that  the  present  generation  has,  in 
my  humble  judgment,  re-acted,  in  their  cases,  the  scenes  which 
have  attached  so  deep  a  stigma  to  the  ages  of  Galileo  and  Harvey. 
The  discoveries  of  the  revolution  of  the  globe,  and  the  circulation 
of  the  blood,  were  splendid  displays  of  genius,  interesting  and  ben- 
eficial to  mankind ;  but  their  results,  compared  with  the  conse- 
quences which  must  inevitably  follow  from  Dr.  Gall's  discovery 
of  the  functions  of  the  brain,  (embracing,  as  it  does,  the  true  theory 
of  the  animal,  moral  and  intellectual  constitution  of  man,)  sink  into 
relative  insignificance.  Looking  forward  to  the  time  vvhen  the  real 
nature  and  ultimate  effects  of  Dr.  Gall's  discovery  shall  be  fully 
recognised,  I  cannot  entertain  a  doubt  that  posterity  will  manifest  as 
eager  a  desire  to  render  honor  to  his  memory,  as  his  contempora- 


CONCLUSION.  625 

ries  have  shown  to  treat  himself  witb  indignity  and  contempt.  If 
the  present  work  shall  tend  in  any  degree  to  rouse  the  public  atten- 
tion to  his  merits,  and  to  excite  the  philosophers  of  England  to  do 
him  justice  ere  he  die,  it  will  accomplish  one  great  end  of  its  pub- 
lication. Let  them  at  last  lay  aside  the  prejudice  which  has  so 
long  kept  them  back  from  looking  with  their  own  eyes  into  his 
works,  and  from  appealing,  with  the  lights  which  he  affords,  to 
Nature,  as  the  standard  by  which  to  try  the  merits  of  his  preten- 
sions. If  they  will  examine,  they  will  find  that  a  fortunate  thought 
opened  up  to  him  a  vast  region  of  discovery,  and  that  he  has  dis- 
played gigantic  powers  in  prosecuting  it  to  its  results ;  that  Dr. 
Gall,  instead  of  being  an  ignorant  pretender  to  knowledge,  is  a  man 
of  profound  and  solid  erudition  ;  that,  so  far  from  being  a  reckless 
theorist,  he  is  the  most  stubborn  adherent  to,  fact  that  has  perhaps 
ever  appeared  in  the  annals  of  inductive  philosophy;  and  that, 
instead  of  being  characterized  by  a  weak  understanding  and  bewil- 
dered imagination,  he  manifests  an  intellect  at  once  profound, 
regulated,  and  comprehensive. 

Dr.  Spurzheim's  works  and  lectures  have  rendered  him  better 
known  in  this  country,  and  the  force  of  truth  has  for  some  years 
been  operating  in  his  favor.  No  reviewer  would  now  reckon  it 
creditable,  to  use  the  terms  so  unceremoniously  applied  to  him  in 
1815;  but  a  great  debt  of  respect  and  gratitude  remains  to  be 
paid  by  Britain  and  the  world  to  Dr.  Spurzheim.  He  is  second  in 
fortune  rather  than  in  merit  to  Dr.  Gall.  The  great  discovery  of 
Phrenology  unquestionably  belongs  to  the  latter  ;  but  to  Dr.  Spurz- 
heim is  due  the  praise  of  early  appreciating  its  importance,  of  fear- 
lessly dedicating  his  life  to  the  enlargement  of  its  boundaries  and 
the  dissemination  of  its  principles,  at  a  time  when  neither  honor 
nor  emolument,  but  obloquy  and  censure,  were  bestowed  on  its 
adherents.  In  admiring  the  science  as  it  now  appears,  it  becomes 
us  to  recollect,  that  we  owe  much  of  its  excellence  and  interest 
to  this  gifted  individual.  He  has  enriched  it  with  the  most  valuable 
anatomical  discoveries;  ascertained  the  functions  of  several  highly 
important  organs ;  shed  over  it  the  lights  of  a  refined  and  analytic 
philosophy,  and  pointed  out  the  most  important  fields  of  its  applica- 
79 


626  CONCLUSION. 

tion.  With  profound  gratitude  and  respect,  therefore,  I  acknow- 
ledge myself  indebted  to  him  for  the  greatest  gift  which  it  was 
possible  for  one  individual  to  confer  on  another, — a  knowledge  of 
the  true  Philosophy  of  Man. 

To  my  excellent  friends,  also,  the  Reverend  David  Welsh,  Mr. 
.Scott,  Mr.  Simpson,  Mr.  Lyon,  and  Dr.  Andrew  Combe,  fellow- 
laborers  with  me  in  Phrenology,  I  owe  many  obligations.  In 
-availing  myself  freely  of  the  lights  they  have  struck  out,  it  has  been 
my  constant  wish  to  acknowledge  the  source  of  my  information  ; 
but  if,  amidst  the  habitual  interchange  of  ideas  with  which  they  have 
honored  me,  their  discoveries  have,  in  any  instance,  been  amalga- 
mated with  my  own, thoughts,  and  their  authors  forgotten,  I  solicit 
their  forgiveness,  assuring  them  that  inadvertency  alone  has  been 
the  cause  of  any  such  mistake;- . 

Edinburgh,  October,  1825. 


POSTSCRIPT   TO   THE   THIRD   EDITION. 

Since  the  foregoing  observations  were  written,  Dr.  Gall  has 
been  numbered  with  the  dead.  Like  many  other  benefactors  of 
mankind,  he  has  died  without  his  merits  being  acknowledged,  or 
his  discoveries  rewarded,  by  the  "great  in  hterature  and  science," 
of  his  own  age  ;  but  he  possessed  the  consciousness  of  having  pre- 
sented to  the  world,  one  of  the  most  valuable  discoveries  that  ever 
graced  the  annals  of  philosophy,  and  enjoyed  the  delight  of  having 
opened  up  to  mankind  a  career  of  improvement,  physical,  moral 
and  intellectual,  to  which  the  boldest  imagination  can  at  present 
prescribe  no  limits.  This  appears  to  be  the  reward  which  Provi- 
dence assigns  to  men  eminently  gifted  with  intellectual  superiority; 
and  we  may  presume  that  it  is  wisely  suited  to  their  nature.  A 
great  duty  remains  for  posterity  to  perform  to  the  memory  of  Dr. 
Gall,  and  I  cannot  entertain  a  doubt,  that  in  due  time  it  will  be 
amply  discharged. 


CONCLUSION.  627 

It  gives  me  the  greatest  satisfaction  to  renew,  after  five  years' 
additional  experience,  the  acknowledgment  of  my  highest  gratitude 
and  esteem  for  Dr.  Spurzheim  ;  and  to  express  my  earnest  wish 
that  Britain  may,  by  suitable  encouragement,  retain  him  perma- 
nently to  herself. 

Edinburgh,  October,  1830. 


POSTSCRIPT    TO    THE    AMERICAN    EDITION. 

It  is  painful  in  no  ordinary  degree  to  speak  now  of  Dr.  Spurz- 
heim, in  the  past  tense  ;  but  since  the  third  Edition  of  this  work 
was  prepared,  he  too  has  been  numbered  with  the  dead.  He  died 
at  Boston,  in  Nov.  1832,  Vhile  zealously  engaged  in  communicat- 
ing the  invaluable  truths  of  Phrenology  to  a  people  in  every  respect 
worthy  of  the  doctrine  and  of  the  man  who  came  among  them  to 
teach  it.  The  citizens  of  Boston,  and  of  the  United  States  gen- 
erally, have  appreciated  the  talents  and  moral  worth  of  this  most 
excellent  philosopher  ;  and  in  expressing  my  heartfelt  sorrow  for 
his  loss,  I  render  a  sincere  tribute  of  respect  and  gratitude  to  them 
for  the  kindness  with  which  they  received  him,  and  the  honors  with 
which  they  enshrined  his  mortal  remains.  I  respectfully  offer  this, 
work  to  their  candid  consideration,  and  will  feel  highly  gratified 
if  it  shall  meet  vyith  their  approbation. 

23  Charlotte  Sq,uare,  Edinburgh, 
September,  1833. 


(  628  ) 


NAMES  AND  ORDERS  OF  THE  ORGANS  ADOPTED  BY  DR.  GALL. 


No. 

French. 

German. 

English 
Names  given  by 
Dr.  Spuhzheim. 

1. 

Instinct  de  la  genera- 
tion. 

Zeugungstrieb. 

Amativeness. 

2. 

Amour  de  la  progeni- 
ture. 

Jungenliebe, 
Kinderliebe. 

Philoprogeni- 
tiveness. 

3. 

Attachement,  amitie. 

Adhesiveness. 

4. 

Instinct  de  la  defense 
de  soi-meme    et  de 
sa  propriete. 

Muth,  Raufsinn. 

Combativeness. 

5. 

Instinct  carnassier. 

Wurgsinn. 

Destructiveness. 

6. 

Ruse,  finesse,  savoir- 
faire. 

List,  Schlauheit, 
Klugheit. 

Secretiveness. 

7. 

Sentiment  de   la  pro- 
priete. 

Eigenthumsinn. 

Acquisitiveness. 

8. 

Orgueil,    fierte,    hau- 
teur. 

Stolz,  Hochmuth, 
Herschsucht. 

Self-Esteem. 

9. 
10. 

Vanite,    ambition,    a- 
mour  de  la  gloire. 

Eitelkeit,   Rhum- 
sucht,  Ehrgeitz. 

Love    of   Appro- 
bation. 

Circonspection,     pre- 

Behutsamkeit, 

Cautiousness. 

ovyance. 

Vorsicht,  Vor- 
sichtigkeit. 

11. 

Memoire  des  choses, 
memoire    des    faits, 
sens  des  choses, edu- 
cabilite,    perfectibi- 
lite. 

Sachgedoechtniss, 
.    Erziehungs- 
Fcehigkeit. 

Eventuality. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF   ORGANS. 


No. 

French. 

German. 

English 
Names  given  by 
Dr.  Spubzheim. 

12. 

Sens     des     localites, 
sens    des    rapports 
de  I'espace. 

Ortsinn,     Raum- 
sinn. 

Locality. 

13. 

Memoire  des  person- 
nes,  sens  des   per- 
sonnes. 

Personen-sinn. 

Form. 

14. 

Sens   des   mots,    sens 
des  noms,  memoire 
des  mots,  memoire 
verbale. 

Wort-GedcEcht- 

niss. 

Language. 

15. 

Sens  de    langage    de 
parole,  talent  de  la 
philologie,  &c. 

Sprach-For- 
schungs-sinn. 

Held  by  Dr. 
Spurzheim   to 
be  included  in 
the  last  organ. 

16. 

Sens  des  rapports  des 
couleurs,    talent  ue 
la  peinture. 

Farben-sinn. 

Coloring.' 

17. 

Sens  des  rapports  des 
tons,    talent    de    la 
musique. 

Ton-sinn. 

Tune. 

18. 

Sens  des  rapports  des 
nombres. 

Number. 

19. 

Sens  de  mechanique, 
sens    de    construc- 
tion, talent  de  I'ar- 
chitecture. 

Kunst-sinn,  Bau- 
sinn. 

Constructiveness. 

20. 

Sagacite  comparative. 

Vergleichender- 
scharfsinn. 

Comparison. 

21. 

Esprit   metaphysique, 
profondeur  d'esprit. 

Metaphysischer- 
Tiefsinn. 

Causality. 

22. 

Esprit   caustique,   es- 
prit de  saillie. 

Witz. 

Wit. 

23. 

Talent  poetique. 

Dichter-Geist. 

Ideality. 

630 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  ORGANS. 


No. 

French. 

German. 

English 
Names  given  by 
Dr.  Sfurzheim. 

24. 

Bonte,  bienveillance, 
douceur,     compas- 
sion, &c. 

GutmcEthigkeit, 
Mitleiden,  &c. 

Benevolence. 

25. 

Faculte  d'imiter,  mi- 
mique. 

Imitation. 

26. 

Sentiment  religieux. 

Veneration. 

27. 

Fermete,  Constance, 

Firmness. 

perseverance. 

Jfames  and  Orders  of  the  Organs^  according  to  the  Classification 
in  the  Previous  -Editions  of  this  WorJc. 


Order  I.— FEELINGS. 

Genus  I. — Propensities. 


1.  Amativeness. 

2.  Philoprogenitiveness. 
S.  Concentrativenesst 

4.  Adhesiveness, 

5.  Combativeness. 


6.  Destructiveness. 
Appetite  for  Food. 

7.  Constructiveness, 

8.  Acquisitiveness. 

9.  Secretiveness. 


Genus  II, — Sentiments. 
1, — Sentiments  common  to  Man  with  Lower  Animals. 


10,  Self -Esteem, 

11,  Love  of  Approbation, 


12.  Cautiousness. 

13.  Benevolence. 


2. — Sentiments  proper  to  Man. 


14.  Veneration. 

15.  Hope. 

16.  Ideality. 


Wonder. 

17.  Conscientiousness. 

18.  Firmness. 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  ORGANS.  631 

Order  II.— INTELLECTUAL  FACULTIES. 

Genus  I. — External  Senses. 


Feeling  or  Touch. 

Hearing. 

Taste. 

Sight. 

Smell. 

Genus   II. — Intellectual  Faculties  which  perceive 
Existence. 

19.  Individuality.  21.  Size. 
Upper  Individuality.  22.  Weight. 
Lower  Individuality.  23.  Coloring. 

20.  Form. 

Genus  III. — Intellectual  Faculties  which  perceive  the 
relation  of  external  objects. 

24.  Locality.  27.  Number. 

25.  Order.  28.  Tune. 

26.  Time.  29.  Language. 

Genus  IV. — Reflecting  Faculties. 

30.  Comparison.  32.  Wit. 

31.  Causality.  33.  Imitation. 


APPENDIX,   No.  I. 


FACULTIES  OF  UR.  GALL. 


The  Note  referred  to  on  page  85  is  printed  on  page  362,  to 
which  the  reader  is  respectfully  referred. 


IJ^DEX. 


Abdominal  temperament,  94. 

Absolute  size  of  a  cerebral  organ  no 
criterion  of  the  predominance  of 
the  faculty  attached  to  it,  90. 

Abuses  of  the  faculties,  what,  459. 

Acquisitiveness,  organ  of,  its  situation, 
191.  History  of  its  discoveiy,  193. 
Large  in  thieves,  ib.  Its  size  in 
different  nations,  198.  Cases  of 
individuals  in  vs^hom  it  was  large, 
199-200.    Its  disease,  202. 

a  primitive  propensity,  not 

admitted  by  the  metaphysicians, 

191.  Admitted  by  Lord  Kames, 

192.  Gives  rise  to  avarice,  192, 
199.  Not  in  itself  base  or  sordid, 
195.  Its  use,  196.  Its  existence 
disputed  by  Mr.  Owen,  197.  Its 
effects  modified  by  Self-Esteem, 
198.  Gives  rise  to  a  tendency  to 
steal,  199.  Manifested  by  the  lower 
animals,  203. 

Acrel,  case  of  diseased  Acquisitive- 
ness from,  202. 

Actmg,  theory  of,  185,  334,  335. 

Activity  of  the  faculties,  modes  of,  460. 
Influenced  by  temperament,  470. 

of  mind    distinguishable 

from  power,'95, 528.  Definition  of, 
97.  How  indicated,  97.  Combi- 
nation of  faculties  favorable  to,  97. 

Actors  have  large  organs  of  Secretive- 

ness  and  Imitation,  185,  333,  334. 
tragic,  Ideality  necessaiy  to, 

310. 
Acuteness,  instantaneous,  conferred 

by  Comparison,  439. 
Adaptation  of  paits  of  the  universe, 

proves  the  existence  of  God,  455. 
80 


Addison,  an  accurate  observer  of 
human  natm-e,  38.  Nature  of  his 
genius,  532. 

Adhesiveness,  one  of  the  propensi- 
ties, effects  of  on  the  character, 
143.  Distinguishable  from  Be- 
nevolence, 144.  Gives  rise  to  so- 
ciety, ib.  Veiy  sti-ong  in  the  dog 
and  other  anmials,  144.  Its  effects 
in  combination,  538. 

organ  of,  its  situation,  140. 

Histoiy  of  its  discovery,  ib.  Its 
functions,  141.  Generally  larger 
in  women  than  in  men,  142.  Its 
disease,  145. 

Affective  faculties,  244,  et  seq. 

Africans,  character  of  the,  563,  577. 
Their  superstition,  578.  Their 
sentiment  of  truth  weak,  282. 

Alderson,  Dr.  of  Hull,  his  cases  of 
specti'al  illusion,  472. 

Alexander  VI.,  Pope,  engraving  of 
his  head,  536. 

Algebra,  talent  for,  395. 

Alimentiveness,  or  organ  of  the  ap- 
petite for  food,  173.  Dr.  Hoppe's 
views  of,  174.  Supposed  situation 
of,  175. 

Allegorical  style,  439. 

Alms-givuig,  not  the  only  manifes- 
tation of  Benevolence,  247. 

Amativeness,  situation  of  the  organ 
of,  108.  History  of  its  discovery, 
109.  Gives  rise  to  the  sexual  feel- 
ing, lb.  Its  influence  on  society, 
111.  Its  abuses,  113.  Its  effects 
in  combination,  538. 

Ambrose,  St.  his  Veneration  repre- 
sented large,  261. 


634 


American  brain  smaller  than  the 
European,  28. 

Indians,  their  Love  of  Ap- 
probation and  Firmness  lai'ge,  235, 
270.  Their  sense  of  truth  weak, 
282.  Their  unimprovable  nature, 
564. — See  JVo7-th  American  Indians. 

Analogies,  perception  of,  437. 

Tlnatomists,  objection  that  they  dis- 
believe Phrenology  answ^ered,  591. 

Anatomy  of  the  brain,  66.  Its  recent 
state,  42 

of  the  skull,  72, 

Ancient  temples,  respect  for,  pro- 
duced by  Veneration,  264. 

Angelo,  Michael,  his  large  Construc- 
tiveness,  &c.  211. 

Anger,  an  abuse  of  Destructiveness, 
163. 

Animal  magnetism,  489. 

Animals,  the  lower,  brains  of,  92. 
Their  Philoprogenitiveness,  123. 
Concentrativeness,  138.  Adhesive- 
ness, 143.  Combativeness,  152. 
Destructiveness,  172.  Secretive- 
ness,  188.  Acquisitiveness,  202. 
Constructiveness,  211,  213,  214. 
Self-Esteem,  225.  Love  of  Appro- 
bation, 235.  Cautiousness,  241. 
Benevolence,  254.  Imitation,  335. 
Form,  362.  Locality,  392.  Num- 
ber, 396.  Language,  432.  Have  no 
Causality,  446.  Their  susceptibil- 
ity of  being  tamed  and  taught,  406. 

Anterior  lobe  of  the  brain,  its  size  a 
measure  of  intellect,  79. 

Antiphrenologists  unreasonable  and 
ignorant,  50,  51,  602,  et  seq. 

Antiquarianism,  tendency  to,  by  what 
caused,  265. 

Apathy,  whence  arising,  507. 

Apparitions,  belief  in,  arises  iS-om  the 
sentiment  of  Wonder,  290,  292.— 
See  Visions. 


Appetite  for  Food,  supposed  organ 
of,    173.       Distinguishable    fi-om 
himger  and  thirst,  175. 
Approbation,  Love  of. — See  Love  of 

Approbation. 
Arachnoid  tunic  of  the  brain,  71. 

Archery  and  quoits,  talent  of  excel- 
lence at,  369. 

Architectural  talent,  544. 

Architecture,  ornamental,  love  of, 
whence  arising,  309. 

Aristotle,  his  account  of  the  facul- 
ties, 20.  His  assignment  of  theiu 
to  diSerent  parts  of  the  brain,  42. 
Placed  the  intellect  in  the  heart, 
46.  His  theoiy  of  the  senses, 
345. 

Arithmetic,  the  chief  sphere  of  the 
faculty  of  Number,  395. 

Araott,  Dr.  NeiU,  on  the  connexion 
between  mind  and  body,  9. 

Arragonese  and  CastUians  havesn^all 
Acquisitiveness,  198. 

Arrangement,  love  of,  398. 

Artists  have  large  organs  of  Se- 
cretiveness,  185 ;  Constructiveness, 
210;  and  Imitation,  335.  Indi- 
viduality useful  to,  360.  Effect  of 
temperament  on,  524. 

Ashantees,  their  character,  578. 

Asiatics  have  generally  large  Vene- 
ration, 263.  Inferior  to  Euro- 
peans, 563. 

Ass,  brain  of  the,  93. 

Association,  analysis  of,  499. 

Astronomers,  eminent,  their  Locality 
large,  390. 

Atheists,  their  causality  generally  de- 
ficient, 454.  Ansv^ers  to  some  of 
then-  arguments,  455. 

Attention,  analysis  of,  498. 

Augustus  Ceesar,  Self-Esteem  large 
in  the  busts  of,  223. 

Aiu-elius,  Marcus,  his  Benevolence 


NDEX. 


635 


and  Veneration  represented  lai-ge, 
249,  -262. 

Authors,  manifest  their  predominant 
faculties  in  then-  works,  386.  Ef- 
fects of  then*  large  or  small  Causal- 
ity on  then*  works,  451.  Effect  of 
temperament  on,  524.  Effect  of 
large  heads  of,  532. 

Avai-ice,  193,  199. 

Awe,  religious,  produced  by  Vene- 
ration, 264. 

Bacon,  Lord,  on  cunnmg,  189.  His 
style  imbued  with  Ideahty,  317. 
On  the  faculties  of  perceiving 
resemblances  and  differences,  323. 
His  Causality  large,  451.  His  want 
of  moral  sentiment,  491.  His  large 
head,  527. 

liai'clay,  Dr.  John,  an  objection  of 
his  to  Phrenology,  586. 

Bashfuhiess,  cause  of,  539, 

Basilar  region  of  the  brain,  functions 
of,  unknown,  74. 

Bayle,  Peter,  Combativeness  of,  151. 

Beauty,  emotion  of,  arises  from  Ide- 
ality, 312.  Dr.  Thomas  Brown 
on,  312.  Mr.  Dugald  Stewart  on, 
313.  Mr.  Jeffrey  on,  315,  364. 

Beavers,  Acquisitiveness  and  Con- 
structiveness  of,  203,  211,  214. 
Have  no  Causality,  446,  note. 

Bees,  Acquisitiveness  and  Construc- 
liveness  of,  203,  211. 

Bell,  Mr.  Charles,  on  plurality  of 
cerebral  organs,  19.  A  view  of  his 
discoveries  of  the  functions  of  the 
spinal  marrow  and  nerves,  51.  Ad- 
mits that  the  shape  of  the  skuU  is 
determined  by  that  of  tlie  brain,  73. 

BeUingham,  John,  murderer,  87,  90, 
165,  243,  248,  279,  422.  Engi-av- 
ing  of  his  skull,  167.  His  style, 
429. 


Benevolence,  organ  of,  its  situation, 
214.  Engravings  of  two  heads  hi 
which  it  is  large  and  small,  ib.  His- 
tory of  its  discoveiy  by  Dr.  Gall,  ib. 
Deficient  in  the  heads  of  deliberate 
murderers,  248.  Supposed  by  Dr. 
Gall  to  be  the  organ  of  Justice, 
252.  Its  effects  on  the  lower  ani- 
mals, 254, 257.  How  to  be  observ- 
ed in  them,  256.    Its  disease,  257. 

one  of  tlie  superior  senti- 
ments, its  aim,  246.  Difference 
between  its  manifestations  and 
those  of  Love  of  Approbation,  ib. 
Its  effects  on  the  mind  of  its  pos- 
sessor, 246, 248. ;  How  it  ought  to 
be  exerted  in  society,  247.  Effects 
of  its  deficiency,  248.  Its  abuses, 
249.  Its  existence  not  inconsistent 
with  that  of  Destructiveness,  250, 
324.  Its  existence  generally  admit- 
ted by  metaphysicians,  257. 

Berkeley,Bishop,his  theoiy  of  Vision, 
352.  His  ideas  on  the  evidence  of 
existence  of  the  material  world,453. 

Bidder,  George,  mental  calculator, 
391,  395. 

Bilious  temperament,  how  distin- 
guishable, 30.    Its  effects,  ib. 

Bhds,  caraivorous,  have  large  organs 
of  Destmctiveness,  173. 

migration  of,  393. 

smgmg,  skuUs  of,  418. 

Blau",  Dr.  Hugh,  an  accurate  ob- 
server of  human  nature,  38. 

Lord  President,  his   Construc- 

tiveness  large,  212. 

Blind  men,  case  of  one  couched,  by 
Cheselden,  354.  Cases  of  their  dis- 
tmguishing  coloi-s  by  touch,  387. 

Blumenbach  teaches  the  connexion 
of  the  mind  with  the  bram,  9.  On 
smell,  25. 

Bonapaiie'a  head  large,  28,  563,  52?. 


636 


INDEX. 


His  description  of  the  characters 
of  Ney  and  Murat,  150.  Intonation 
of  his  voice  when  angiy,  152.  His 
Secretiveness,  181.  His  Self-Es- 
teem,  223.  Was  unable  to  under- 
stand mtegrity  of  charactei*,  277. 
His  generals,  529. 

Booth,  murderer,  166. 

Boshuans,  some  account  of  the,  578. 

Bossuet's  face  small  and  brain  large, 
42. 

Boundaries  of  the  cerebral  organs, 
82,  86,  587. 

Brain,  demonstrated  to  be  the  organ 
of  the  mind,  6 — 12.  Partial  inju- 
ries of,  18,  609,  et  seq.  Influence 
of  size  in,  27.  Small  in  cliildren, 
the  lower  classes,  and  idiots,  28. 
Functions  of,  not  discoverable  by- 
dissection,  40.  Recent  state  of  its 
anatomy,  42.  Gall's  researches  on 
its  structure,  48.  Its  anatomj',  66. 
Engravings  of,  66,  67.  Its  cineri- 
tious  ami  medullary  substances, 
and  hemisplieres,  62.  Its  insensi- 
bility, 73.  Its  integuments,  74.  Its 
figure  durmg  life  discoverable  by 
observation,  73.  Brains  of  the 
lower  animals,  92.  Texture  of  the 
brain  finer  in  some  individuals 
tlian  m  othei-s,  94.  Difference  of 
its  shape  in  males  and  females,  123. 
Its  diflferent  paits  distinguishable, 
586.  Answer  to  the  objection,  that 
its  parts  may  be  injured  without 
affectmg  the  mind,  587,  600.  Ob- 
sei-vations  on  Sir  E.  Home's  pro- 
posed method  of  investigating  the 
functions  of  its  different  parts,  523. 
Brazil  Indians,  account  of  then-  char- 
acter and  brains,  576.  Engraving 
of  the  skull  of  one,  ib. 
Brewster's,  Dr.  organ  of  "Weight 
large,  396. 


Bright's  account  of  the  devotion 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Vienna, 
260. 
Brown,  Dr.  Thomas,  on  the  connex- 
ion of  mind  with  body,  12.  On 
the  simplicity  or  compound  nature 
of  the  mind,  102.  On  instant  an- 
ger, 148.  His  style  characterized 
by  Secretiveness,  188.  His  views 
of  desu'e  of  wealth,  191 ;  of  power, 
225 ;  and  of  glory,  236.  On  Me- 
lancholy, 243.  On  Benevolence, 
258.  Eulogy  of  his  character,  in- 
tellect, and  philosophy,  285,  note. 
His  views  of  Beauty,  312 ;  Vision, 
355;  Wonder,  300;  and  Simple 
Suggestion,  406.  His  definition 
of  a  cause,  444.  Displays  gi-eat 
Causality,  451.  His  views  of  Re- 
lative Suggestion,  453;  Percep- 
tion, 470 ;  Consciousness,  496, 

Bruce,  King  Robert,  149,  236,  243, 
261,  270,  281.  His  large  head, 
527. 

Brunei,  engineer,  his  large  organs 
of  Constructiveness,  Weight,  and 
Causality,  209,  370,  451. 

BuU-dog's  Combativeness  large,  and 
that  of  the  greyhound  small,  154. 

Burk  and  Hare,  profiles  of,  compared 
with  that  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  M.,  81. 
Developement  of,  165. 

Burke's  eloquence,  422,  note.  His 
Comparison  and  Causality  large, 
439,  451. 

Burton's  division  of  the  brain  into 
organs,  20. 

Business,  usefuhiess  of  Individuality 
and  Eventuality  in,  403. 

Bust,  phrenological,  its  uses,  85. 

Byron's  poems  strongly  manifest 
Destructiveness,  162.  Bad  taste 
displayed  in  some  passages  of  his 
Don  Juan,  522. 


NDEX. 


637 


Cabinet-makers,  skilful,  have  large 
Constructiveness,  210. 

Caffres,  some  account  of  the,  578. 

Calculation,  talent  for,  393. 

Caligula,  character  of,  109.  His  Be- 
nevolence small,  249. 

Callipers,  use  of,  90. 

Campbell,  the  poet,  his  good  taste, 
whence  arising,  524. 

Camper's  facial  angle  described,  41. 
Its  fallacy,  41. 

Caracalla's  Benevolence  small,  249. 

Carmichael,  Mr.  A.,  his  views  of 
sleep,  480. 

,  Mr.  Richard,  his  report 

of  case  of  Ann  Ross,  187. 

Carnivorous  and  gi-ammivorous  ani- 
mals, difference  between  the  brains 
of,  154.  Destructiveness  of  the 
foi-mer,  172,  173. 

Castilians  and  Arragonese  have  small 
Acquisitiveness,  199. 

Catalani,  Madame,  her  organ  of  Tune, 
411. 

Catherme  of  Medicis,  her  Benevo- 
lence small,  249. 

Catholics  strongly  manifest  Venera- 
tion, 260. 

Caucasian  variety  of  Blumenbach,580. 

Causality,  one  of  the  reflecting  facul- 
ties, 444.  Analysis  of,  445,  et  seq. 
Not  possessed  by  the  lower  ani- 
mals, 446.  Dr.  Spiu-zheim  on,  448. 
Effects  of  its  strongness  or  weak- 
ness in  active  life,  449,  450.  Its 
effects  in  the  works  of  authors, 
451.  Its  effects  in  producing  be- 
lief m  Phrenology,  452. 
organ  of,  histoiy  of  its  dis- 
covery, 444.  In  whom  large,  451. 
Not  large  m  the  French,  451.  Rep- 
resented large  in  the  heads  of  Jupi- 
ter and  Socrates,  ib.  Its  effects  Ln 
combuiation,  540. 


Cause,  Dr.  T.  Brown's  definition  of, 

444. 
Cause  and  effect,  perception  of,  444, 

447. 
Cautiousness,  a  positive  sentiment, 
and  not  the  mere  want  of  courage, 
237.  Its  aim,  ib.  Its  effects  on  the 
character,  238.  Its  effects  in  com- 
bination with  other  faculties,  240, 
539.  Effects  of  its  extreme  activ- 
ity, 240. 

,  organ  of,  its  situation, 

236.  Cuts  of  two  skulls  in  which 
it  is  large  and  small,  ib.  Histoiy 
of  its  discoveiy  by  Dr.  Gall,  ib. 
Large  in  children,  238.  Effects  of 
its  deficiency,  ib.  Combined  with 
large  Desti-uctiveness  and  deficient 
Hope,  predisposes  to  suicide,  240, 
288.  Its  disease,  241.  Larger 
among  the  lower  animals  in  fe- 
males than  m  males,  242.  Larger 
ui  the  Germans,  English  and  Scots 
than  in  the  French,  243.  Differ- 
ence of  its  size  m  different  heads, 
243. 

Censoriousness  and  envy,  abuses  of 
Self-Esteem,  220. 

Cerebellum,  size  of,  at  different  pe- 
I'iods  of  life,  11,  110.  Supposed 
by  Dreliucourt  to  be  the  seat  of 
the  soul,  46.  Its  anatomy,  70.  Is' 
the  organ  of  Amativeness,  107.. 

Cerebrum,  the  brain. — See  Brain. 

Ceylonese,  engravings  of  skulls  of, 
150,  190. 

Chalmers,  Dr.  his  Ideality  large,  87. 
Fond  of  unusual  words  and  ex- 
pressions, 298.  His  Weight  large, 
369.  His  Comparison  large,  438, 
ib.  Sometunes  sins  against  taste, 
525.  His  large  head  and  powei-ful 
mind,  531. 

Cliarii)s,  91.      Tlicir   Philoprogeni- 


638 


INDEX. 


tiveness  large,  ib.  Engi'aving  of 
the  skull  of  one,  ib.  536, 568.  Their 
Combativeuess,  152;  Destructive- 
ness,  166;  Acquisitiveness,  198; 
Benevolence,  244 ;  Comparison, 
440;  and  Causality,  451.  Account  of 
their  brains  and  character,  121, 568. 

Chaiity,  Christian,  St.  Paul's  descrip- 
tion of,  246. 

Charles  I.  of  England,  his  Veneration 
represented  large,  262. 

Chaucer,  engraving  of  his  head, 
showing  large  Ideality,  310. 

Chaymas,  their  difficulty  in  compre- 
hending numeration,  396. 

Cheselden,  case  of  a  blind  man 
couched  by,  354. 

Chess-players,  emment,  their  large 
Locality,  391. 

Chestei-field  on  laughter  and  wit, 
320.  His  recommendation  of  po- 
lite deceit,  523. 

Children  have  small  cerebella,  14, 
and  small  brams,  28.  Their  organs 
of  Cautiousness  large,  238.  EfFecrs 
of  Veneration  on,  263.  Stubborn,, 
have  large  Firmness,  269.  Then- 
Eventuality  and  Individuality 
large,  402, 435.  Their  shrill  voices, 
412.  Their  education,  465.  Their 
passions,  507.  How  most  easily 
rendered  obedient,  517. 

Chinese,  then*  organ  of  Form,  363, 
364. 

Christ's  cerebral  developement,  how 
represented  by  Raphael,  262. 

Chronology,  memoiy  of,  501. 

Churchyards,  respect  for,  produced 
by  Veneration,  264. 

Cicero's  love  of  fame,  230. 

Cineritious  substance  of  the  brain, 
68,  69. 

Circumspection,  faculty  of,  238. — 
See  Cautiotis7iess. 


Clarke,  Dr.  his  theoiy  of  virtue,  272. 

the  traveller,  his  organs  of 

Weight  and  Locality  large,  370. 

Classification  of  the  faculties  and 
organs,  105,  628. 

Clergymen,  difference  between  those 
having  large  and  small  organs  of 
Veneration,  266. — See  Preachers. 

Clerks,  choice  of,  by  the  aid  of  phre- 
nology, 465. 

Cleverness,  what,  533. 

Climate  and  soil,  effect  of,  on  the 
character  of  nations,  565. 

Clippmg  and  di-awmg  figures,  talent 
for,  210. 

Cobbett's  Combativeuess,  151.  His 
Self-Esteem  large,  220.  Engi*av- 
ing  of  his  head  showmg  Ideality 
small,  310. 

Colburn,  Zerah,  calculating  boy,  391, 
395. 

Colby,  Sir  Thomas,  his  Acquisitive- 
ness large,  193. 

Coloring  a  perceptive  faculty,  374. 
Possessed  l^y  blmd  men,  .387. 

organ  of,  effects  of  its  lai-ge- 

ness  and  deficiency,  375.  Cases 
of  its  deficiency,  376,  .379,  Its  size, 
how  to  be  distinguished,  ib.  Gene- 
rally larger  m  woiuen  than  in  men, 
387. 

Colors,  perception  of,  not  dependent 
on  the  acuteness  of  vision,  374. 
Dr.  Gall  on  the  laws  of  then-  har- 
mony, 379.  Their  harmony  de- 
nied by  Mr.  Jeffi-ey,  380.  386. 
Distinguished  by  some  blind  men 
by  touch,  487. 

Columbus's  Locality  represented 
large,  390. 

Combativeuess,  one  if  the  propen- 
sities, objections  to  its  existence 
answered,  147.  More  essential  to 
leaders    in  feudal    than    modern 


639 


times,  150.  Inspires  authore  with 
the  love  of  battles,  ib.  Its  abuses, 
151.  Its  effects  on  the  voice,  152. 
Its  effects  in  combination,  538, 
539. 

Combativeness,  situation  of  the  organ 
of,  146.  History  of  its  discoveiy, 
t5.  Its  functions,  149.  Eugi-av- 
ings  of  skulls  in  which  it  is  large 
and  small,  150.  Effects  of  its  de- 
ficiency, ib.  Generally  larger  in 
men  than  in  women,  153.  Its  dis- 
ease, ib.  Its  appearance  in  the 
heads  of  the  bull-dog,  gray-hound, 
horse,  and  game-cock,  ib. 

Combe,  Dr.  Andi'ew,  on  plurality  of 
organs  in  the  brain,  14.  On  size 
and  power,  22.  On  sympathy,  512. 
His  answer  to  Dr.  Barclay's  objec- 
tions, 586.  On  the  effects  of  in- 
juries of  the  brain  on  the  mental 
manifestations,  600. 

Combinations  in  size  of  the  cerebral 
organs,  37,  535.  In  their  activity, 
585.  Practical  application  of  the 
docnine  of,  553. 

Commands,  most  effectual  way  of 
giving,  516. 

Commissures  of  the  brain,  69,  70. 

Companion  of  Gall,  his  large  organ 
of  Language,  44,  433. 

Comparative  Phrenology,  92,  123, 
138,  143,  153,  154,  172,  173,  189, 
203,  211,  215,225,  235,  242,  254, 
a36,  362,  399,  396,  432,  446. 

Comparison,  one  of  the  reflecting 
faculties,  436.  History  of  the  dis- 
coveiy of  its  organ,  ib.  Its  func- 
tion, ib.  Mr.  Scott  on,  ib.  el  seq. 
Gives  a  tendency  to  analogical 
reasoning,  438,  and  instantaneous 
acuteness,  439.  Important  to  poets, 
440.  Mr.  H.  Watson's  views  of, 
ib.    Dr.  Spurzheim  on.  443. 


Compliments,  prompted  by  Love  of 
Approbation,  232. 

Composers,  musical,  talent  of,  411. 

Comprehensive  energy  of  Dr.  Tho- 
mas Brown,  135. 

Compression  of  the  brain,  effects  of, 
10,  of  the  infant  head  by  savage 
nations,  569. 

Concealment  of  desu'es  and  emotions, 
power  of,  produced  by  Secretive- 
ness,  180. 

Concentrativeness,  situation  of  the 
organ  of,  125.  Fimctions  of,  ib. 
Views  of  Mr.  Welsh  and  Dr.  Hoppe 
on  the  functions  of,  127.  Remai-ks 
on,  by  an  author  in  the  Phrenolo- 
gical Journal,  ib.  Answers  to  Dr. 
Spurzheim's  objections,  136,  137. 
Disease  of  the  organ,  136.  Not 
admitted  by  Dr.  Gall,  226.     Effects 

,  of  its  deficiency  with  large  and 
small  Eventuality,  402,  403. 

Conception,  a  mode  of  activity  of  the 
intellectual  faculties,  470. 

Configuration,  organ  of,  363.  —  See 
Form. 

Conscientiousness,  organ  of,  its  sit- 
uation, 271.  Not  admitted  by 
Dr.  Gall,  279.  Established  by 
Spurzheim,  271,  280.  Its  disease, 
284. 

one  of  the  superior 

sentiments,  function  of,  273,  274. 
Its  effect  on  the  manners,  276. 
Consequences  of  its  deficiency,  ib. 
Is  the  origin  of  the  sense  of  truth, 
277.  Its  effects  in  combination, 
282,  538,  540. 

Consciousness  does  not  reveal  organs, 
7,  39,  289,  496.  Localizes  the 
mind  in  the  head,  10,  39.  Unity 
of,  406.  Analysis  of,  496.  Does 
not  infirm  us  of  the  nature  of 
mind,  595. 


640 


INDEX. 


Consciousness  double  or  divided, 
cases  of,  100,  486. 

(constancy  confen-ed  by  Fiminess, 
269. 

Constantine's  Veneration  represented 
lai'ge,  261. 

Constitution  of  brain,  influences  the 
effects  of  its  size,  30.  Indicated 
to  some  extent  by  temperament, 
29,  533. 

Constructiveness,  one  of  the  propen- 
sities, 21 1.  Its  difference  in  man 
and  the  lower  animals,  214.  Its 
use,  ib. 

organ  of,  its  situation, 

204.  An  objection  regardiag  the 
effects  of  the  temporal  muscles 
answered,  ib.  History  of  its  dis- 
covery, 205.  Large  in  Raphael, 
and  small  in  New  Hollanders,  207. 
Large  in  eminent  engineers,  en- 
gravers, painters,  sculptors  and 
operative  surgeons,  210.  Large  in 
the  Italians  and  French,  ib.  Ex- 
amples of  its  great  and  small  de- 
velopement,  212-13-14.  Its  dis- 
ease, 214.  Its  situation  in  the  heads 
of  the  ]  o  wer  animals,  ih .  Its  effects 
in  combination,  540. 

Convolutions  of  the  brain,  69. 

Cook,  Captain,  his  large  Locality, 
390.  His  account  of  the  New 
Hollanders,  570. 

Cordonniei',  Francois,  engraving  of 
the  head  of,  218.  His  large  Idea- 
lity, 305. 

Coronal  regioii  of  the  brain,  the  seat 
of  the  moral  sentiments,  80. 

Corpus  callosum  of  the  brain,what,69. 
Coup  cCail  conferred  by  Locality,  391. 

Courage  inspired  by  the  faculty  of 

Combativeness,  149. 
Covetiveness,    Acquisitiveness,    for- 
merly so  called,  191. 


Cowper,    the    poet,    diffidence    of, 

whence  arising,  152. 
Craniometer,  use  of,  90. 
Crawford,  Dr.,  of  Dublin,  remarks 

on  insanity  by,  169. 
Credulity,  energetic  Hope  disposes 

to,  287. 
Cretins,  Constructiveness  of  the,  214. 
Crunmal  legislation,  558. 
Criminals  not  always  punished  by 

remorse,  279.  Their  Ideality  gene- 
rally small,  308.    Effects  of  large 

heads  of,  530. 
Criticism,  talent  for,  426. 
Croly's  poetry  secretive,  188. 
Crook,  Mr.,  on  the  organ  of  Alimen- 

tiveness,  176. 
Crystallography,  363. 
Cudworth  maintained  the  existence 

of  the  moral  sense,  272,  285. 
CuUen,  Dr.  teaches  the  connexion 

of  the  mind  with  the  brain,  8. 
Cunning,  arises  fi'om  Secretiveness, 

&c.  180. 
Curiosity  to  know  details,  arises  fi-om 

Individuality,  358. 
Cuiran,  J.  P.  engraving  of  his  head, 

showing    moderate    Individuality 

and  small  Form,  357,  369.     His 

eloquence,  422,  note.    His  conipai- 

ison  large,  439. 
Cursing,  an  abuse  of  Destructiveness, 

163. 

D'Alembert's  assertioii  regarding  the 

Imagination,  482. 
Dancing,  love  of  and  skill  in,  whence, 

407-8. 
Dandyism,  234. 

Danton's  Benevolence  small,  249. 
Deaf  and  dumb  dancers,  427-8. 
Dean,  murderer,  110, 166. 
Death  viewed  in  various  lights  by 

different  mdividuals,  176.      Fear 


INDEX. 


641 


of,  assuaged  by  the  scDtiment  of 
Hope,  288. 

De  Bonald,  Mons.,  on  the  diversity 
of  philosophical  systems,  38,  624. 

Deference  and  respect,  feeling  of, 
produced  by  Veneration,  263. 

Defoe's  Individuality  and  Eventuality 
large,  404. 

Degi-ees,  different,  in  which  the  fa- 
culties are  possessed,  36,  47. 

Dempsey,  murderer,  87,  228,  236. 

Derangement,  mental.  —  See  Insan- 
ity. 

Derham  on  distinguishing  colors  by 
touch,  387. 

Descartes  placed  the  soul  in  the  pi- 
neal gland,  46. 

Desue  produced  by  every  active  fa- 
culty, 286. 

Despondency,  cause  of,  240-1,  288. 

Destractiveness,  one  of  the  propen- 
sities, illustrations  of,  156-7.  Dis- 
tinguished from  Combativeness, 
159.  Its  effects  in  society,  ih. 
Supposed  by  some  phrenologists 
to  give  energy  to  the  mind,  160. 
Gives  edge  to  sarcasm,  satire  and 
invective,  and  abounds  in'  the 
poems  of  Lord  Byron,  161.  Ef- 
fects of  its  weakness,  ib.  Its 
abuses,  162, 164. 

. organ  of,  its  situa- 
tion, 154.  History  of  its  disco  v- 
eiy,  ih.  Its  functions,  158.  Lai-ge 
in  murderers,  165.  Large  in  the 
Charibs,  and  small  in  the  Hindoos, 
ib.  Excited  by  intoxication,  167. 
Its  disease,  167, 170.  Its  situation 
in  the  lower  animals,  172.  Its  ex- 
istence not  mconsistent  with  that 
of  Benevolence,  250,  323.  Its  ef- 
fects in  combination,  538. 

Details,  talent  for  acquning  know- 
81 


ledge  of,  conferred  by  Individu- 
ality, 308,  403. 

Determination,  arises  from  Firmness, 
268. 

Developement  of  the  cerebral  organs 
how  ascertained,  82,  &c.— See  Or- 
gans. 

Devil,  actions  sometimes  ascribed  to 
the  temptation  of  the,  171. 

Dewar,  Dr.,  his  report  of  a  case  of 
divided  consciousness,  487. 

Differences,  faculty  of  perceiving, 
323. 

Diploe  of  the  skull,  what,  72. 

Discovery  by  observation  prompted 
by  large  Individuality,  360. 

Discrimination  of  dispositions  and  tal- 
ents practicable  by  observation,  65. 

Disease  modifies  the  effects  of  size 
of  the  brain,  31. 

Dispositions,  natural,  diversity  of,  36, 
47,  62,  448. 

Dissection  of  an  organ  does  not  re- 
veal its  functions,  40,  61. 

Distance,  power  of  perceiving,  366. 

Divines  have  successfully  obsei-ved 
human  nature,  38. 

Division  of  the  faculties,  105. 

Dogs,  then*  brains,  95.  Adhesive- 
ness very  strong  in,  144.  Their 
Destructiveuess,  172;  Love  of  Ap- 
probation, 235 ;  Benevolence,  254, 
256-7.  Their  Locality  supposed 
to  enable  them  to  return  home  from 
a  gi-eat  distance,  393. 

Dolci,  Ludovico,  his  division  of  the 
head  into  compartments,  20. 

Dominion  and  power,  love  of,  whence 
arising,  223. 

Double  Consciousness,  cases  o^  100, 
486. 

Doubts,  irresolution  and  wavering, 
whence  arising,  238. 


642 


INDEX. 


Douglas,  Mr.  W.,  painter,  his  inte- 
rest in  perspective,  367.  His  large 
organs  of  Size  and  Coloring,  368, 
378. 

Di'amatic  authors  have  large  Imita- 
tion, 333. 

Drawing,  talent  for,  208,  364. 

Dread  and  apprehension,  v(rhence 
rising,  240. 

Dreaming  explicable  only  by  plural- 
ity of  cerebral  organs,  14.  Ana- 
lysis of,  478. 

Dreams  frequeptly  have  relation  to 
the  lai-gest  organs  in  the  brain, 
479. 

Drelincourt  placed  the  soul  in  the 
cerebellum,  41. 

Dress,  ornamental,  love  of,  w^hence 
arising,  309. 

Ducrow,  the  equestrian,  his  large  or- 
gan of  Concentrativeness,  140. 

Duelling,  276. 

Dura  mater,  vi^hat,  71. 

Duty,  sense  of,  produced  by  Con- 
scientiousness, 274,  279. 

Duxes  of  classes  for  languages,  what 
organs  they  have  large,  425. 

Dynamics,  talent  foi",  392. 

Ear  does  not  recollect  or  judge  of 
sounds,  409. 

Edinburgh  Eeview,  on  the  connex- 
ion of  the  mind  with  the  brain, 
10.  On  the  nervous  system,  19, 
28.  On  the  recent  state  of  the 
anatomy  of  the  brain,  42.  Review 
of  Byron's  Tragedies  in,  317.  On 
injuries  of  the  brain,  601,  et  seq. 

Editors,  Eventuality  essential  to,  406, 

Educability,  sense  of,  399,  406. 

Education  not  the  cause  of  the  in- 
equality of  mental  faculties,  46. 
Modifies  their  manifestations,  94. 
Faculty  of  Language  too  exten- 


sively cultivated  in,  433.  EflFects 
of,  559. 

Edwards,  engraver,  his  Constructive- 
ness  and  Compaiison  large,  210, 
335. 

Egotism,  the  result  of  predominating 
Self-Esteem,  220.  Example  of, 
221.  Produced  also  by  Love  of 
Approbation,  233. 

Egyptians,  ancient,  heads  of,  580. 

Elephant's  brain  larger  than  that  of 
man,  92. 

Elevation,  physical,  love  of,  m  some 
animals,  136,  225. 

Eloquence,  source  and  nature  of, 
422,  note,  544. 

Energy  of  character  supposed  by 
some  phrenologists  to  arise  fi-om 
Destructiveness,  160. 

Engineering,  talent  for,  368. 

English  delight  in  humor,  184.  Their 
Self-Esteem,  Cautiousness,  and 
Fu'mness,  larger  than  those  of  the 
French,  224,  242,  269.  Probable 
cause  of  then-  political  liberty,  223. 

Engravers,  eminent,  have  large  or- 
gans of  Constructiveness  and  Im- 
itation, 211,  335. 

Envy,  by  what  caused,  220. 

Epigrams,  talent  for,  arises  from  the 
organ  of  Wit,  331. 

Equilibrium,  instinct  of,  370. 

E.  S.  of  Dubhn,  character  and  de- 
velopement  of,  168. 

Esquirol,  cases  of  insanity  from,  202, 
268. 

Europeans,  their  large  heads,  527. 
Their  moral  and  intellectual  na- 
ture, 562.  Account  of  their  heads, 
580. 

Eventuality,  one  of  the  perceptive 
faculties,  function  of,  400.  Useful 
to  men  of  business  and  lawyers, 
403.    Mrs.  Quickly  an  illustration 


643 


of,  405,  Dr.  Spurzheim  on,  ib. 
Observations  on,  406. 

Eventuality,  organ  of,  its  size  how 
discriminated,  399.  Tln-ee  engrav- 
ings of  heads  illustrative  of  it,  399. 
Histoiy  of  its  discoveiy  by  Dr. 
Gall,  400.  Large  in  Sheridan,  401. 
Effects  of  its  largeness  and  defi- 
ciency, 402.  In  combination  with 
large  and  small  Concenti-ative- 
ness,  &c.  402,  403,  540.  Large  in 
observant  authors,  404. 

Example,  explanation  of  its  power- 
ful effects  on  children,  517. 

Executions,  pleasure  in  witnessing, 
whence  arisuig,  163. 

Exercise  of  the  cerebral  organs  in- 
creases their  activity,  520. 

Existence  of  material  objects,  evi- 
dence of,  452. 

Experiment,  tendency  to  nivestigate 
by,  conferred  by  Eventuality,  400, 
405. 

External  senses. — See  Senses. 

Eyes,  only  one  used  m  looking,  346. 
Their  functions,  355.  Memory  of 
forms  and  colors  not  dependent  on 
the,  362,  374.  Do  not  perceive 
the  relations  of  coloi's,  374,  387. 
Large  organ  of  Language  mdicated 
liy  their  prominence  and  depres- 
sion, 44,  419, 

Face,  size  of,  compared  with  that  of 
the  brain,  42. 

Facial  angle  of  Camper  described, 
41.    Its  faUacy,  42. 

Faculties,  plurality  of,  13,  34.  Ap- 
pear successively,  14,  35.  Con- 
nexion of,  mth  particular  organs, 
33,  et  seq.  Combinations  of,  37, 
535.  Meaning  of  the  term,  106. 
What  faculties  are  admitted  to  be 
primitive,    ib.      Dr.    Spurzheim's 


division  of  them,  105.  Modes  of 
their  activity,  459,  et  seq.  Excited 
by  the  presentment  of  their  objects, 
445.  Effects  of  size  in  the  organs 
on  then-  manifestation,  527,  535. 
Desire  of  gratification  in  proportion 
to  the  size  of  their  organs,  535. 
Feelings,  108.  Propensities,  ib. 
Sentiments,  216-336.  Intellect- 
ual Faculties,  337.  External 
senses,  337, 356.  Faculties  perceiv- 
ing existence,  356,  387.  Facul- 
ties perceiving  relations,  388,  433. 
Reflecting  Faculties,  436, 
457. 

Faith,  exercise  of,  favored  by  Hope, 
289. 

Fame,  love  of,  229. 

Familiar  spirits,  belief  in,  arises  from 
Wonder,  291,  293. 

Fanaticism,  i-eligious,  produced  by 
excited  Wonder,  299. 

Fancy,  482. 

Farish,  Professor,  of  Cambridge,  his 
organ  of  Weight  large,  369. 

Fashions  in  dress,  &c.,  cause  of  their 
mutability,  296. 

Fear,  whence  arising,  152,  237. 

Feebleness  and  power  of  character, 
27,  527,  533. 

Feeling  or  Touch,  sense  of,  349. 

Feelings,  108,  et  seq. 

Females  have  a  greater  endovvment 
of  Philoprogenitiveness  than  males, 
119,  123.  Differences  between 
their  brains  and  those  of  males,  123. 
Then-  Combativeness  smaller,  152. 
Their  Cautiousness  and  Veneration 
larger,  241,  267.— See  Women. 

among  the  lower  animals 

more  cautious  than  males,  242. 

Fenelon's  Benevolence,  247. 

FeraB,  the  organ  of  Destructiveness 
large  in  the,  173. 


644 


Ferguson,  Dr.  Adam,  on  the  political 
freedom  of  the  Enghsh,  224. 

Mr.  case  of  inability  to 

perceive  perspective,  366.  His 
organ  of  Size  small,  367,  468. 

Ferriar,  Dr.  Cases  of  injury  of  the 
brain  mentioned  by,  505,  612,  614. 

Fever,  how  productive  of  sleepless- 
ness and  dreaming,  479. 

Figurative  language,  whence,  437. 

Fihal  piety  arises  chiefly  from  Vene- 
ration, 265. 

Fine  arts,  by  what  faculties  produced, 
309,  310,  335.    Taste  m,  545. 

Firmness,  one  of  the  sentiments,  use 
of,  268.  Appears  not  to  be  admit- 
ted by  metaphysicians,  271. 

,  organ  of,  its  situation,  268. 

History  of  its  discovery,  ib.  Effects 
of  its  predommance,  on  the  manner, 
269.  Larger  m  the  British  than  in 
the  French,  269.  Effects  of  its  de- 
ficiency, 271.     Its  disease,  ib. 

Fisher,  Miss  Clara,  her  large  Secre- 
tiveness,  and  Love  of  Approbation, 
185,235.  Engi-avingof  her  head, 
showing  large  Imitation,  336. 

Flechier,  Eveque  de  Nismes,  egotism 
of,  222. 

Flourens'  experiments  on  the  cere- 
bellum, 111. 

Foderfe  on  partial  genius  in  idiots,  15. 
On  plurality  of  cerebral  organs,  19. 
Cases  ofinsanityfi-om,  201.  On  the 
Constructiveness  of  the  Cretins,189, 

Folie  raisonante,  what,  17. 

Force  of  character  always  accompa- 
nied by  a  large  brain,  28,  528. 

Forehead,  slopuig,  433. 

Form,  one  of  the  perceptive  faculties, 
its  vigor  not  proportionate  to  the 
acuteness  of  vision,  362.  Mani- 
fested by  animals,  ib.  Dr.  Spurz- 
heim's  analysis  of,  363. 


Form,  organ  of,  history  of  its  discov- 
ery by  Dr.  Gall,  361.  Its  situation, 
ib.     Its  size,  how  distinguishable, 

362,  420,  note.  Engravings  of  two 
heads,  in  which  it  is  large  and 
small,  357.  Its  effects  in  combi- 
nation, 540. 

Forster's  journey  from  Bengal  to 
England,  243. 

Fortitude  conferred  by  Firmness,  268. 

Fox,  Charles  James,  his  large  head, 
527. 

Francois  Cordonnier,poet,  engi*aving 
of  his  head,  218.  His  Ideahty 
large,  305. 

FrankUn,  Captain,  his  large  head, 
529. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  37.  His  Cau- 
sality large,  451.  Reverenced  God, 
though  he  renoimced  Christianity, 
455. 

Eraser's  Language  small,  433. 

French,  not  a  humorous  nation,  184. 
Their  Constructiveness  large,  210. 
Then*  Self-Esteem  and  Firmness 
smaller  than  those  of  the  English, 
224,  269.  Their  Love  of  Appro- 
bation, 235.  Are  the  leaders  of 
fashion,  and  why,  296.  Then-  In- 
dividuality and  Form  large,  360, 

363.  Their  Tune,  411.  Then- 
Comparison  large,  439.  Their 
Cautiousness  and  Causality  not 
large,  243,  451. 

French  M.  D.,  cast,  396,  398,     ' 

Frontal  sinus,  what,  75.  Objections 
to  Pln-enology  founded  on  its  ex- 
istence, answered,  76.  Throws  a 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  obser- 
vation of  Individuality,  361 ;  Form, 
ib. ;  Size,  366 ;  and  Locality,  393. 

Fry,  Mrs.  Combativeness  of,  149. 

Fuseli  on  Raphael's  style  of  painting, 
542. 


645 


Future  state,  disposition  to  belief  of, 

arises  from  the  sentiment  of  Hope, 

288. 
Futurity,   brilliant   anticipations   of, 

arise  from  the  Sentiment  of  Hope, 

286.    Notion  of,  289. 

Gaiety,  by  what  produced,  325. 

Galen  placed  the  soul  in  the  bi-ain, 
46. 

Galileo  and  his  discoveries,  how 
treated  by  his  contemporaries,  3. 
His  Locality  large,  390.  His 
greamess,  590. 

Gall,  Dr.  F.  J.,  the  founder  of  Phre- 
nology, 43.  Birth  and  death  of,  {6. 
Discovered  Phrenology  by  obser- 
vation, ib.  584.  Abandoned  all 
theories,  47.  His  anatomical  re- 
searches, 48.  First  lectured  in 
1796.  His  opinion  of  the  faculty 
of  Adhesiveness,  145.  Did  not 
admit  a  distinct  organ  of  Justice, 
252.  On  Fmnn^ss,  268.  Did 
not  admit  the  organ  of  Conscien- 
tiousness, 279.  His  theory  of  the 
single  impressions  perceived  by 
double  organs  of  the  external 
senses,  346.  His  views  of  the 
faculty  of  Hope,  286.  His  organ 
of  Form  deficient,  361,  363,  note. 
His  infantile  genius,  ib.  On  the 
hai-mony  of  colors,  379.  His  views 
of  Eventuality,  406.  Admitted  two 
organs  of  Language,  426.  His 
merits  and  discoveries,  624,  626. 
Na  mes  of  the  organs  adopted  by 
him,  627. 

Game-cocks  and  game-hens  have 
larger  Combativeness  than  domes- 
tic fowls,  and  may  be  distinguish- 
ed by  the  shape  of  their  heads,  154. 

Gaming,  love  of,  whence,  288. 

Ganglions,  what,  54. 


Garrick's  large  organ  of  Imitation, 
example  of,  332. 

Gauls,  then*  character  as  given  by 
Tacitus,  565. 

Generals,  qualifications  of,  150,  188, 
391. 

Genius,  cause  of,  525,  534. 

for  music,  &c.  See  Music,  ^-c. 

,  partial,  explicable  only  by 

plurality  of  cerebral  organs,  14. 

Geographers,  eminent,  their  Locality 
large,  390. 

Geometi-y,  genius  for,  391. 

George  IIL  his  large  organs  of  In- 
dividuality and  Form,  357,  362. 
Engraving  of  his  head,  357. 

Georget  on  size  and  power  of  nerves, 
26. 

Germans  have  larger  Cautiousness 
and  Tune  than  the  French,  243, 
411.  Tacitus'  description  of  them, 
567. 

Ghosts  and  visions,  belief  in,  whence 
arising,  290. — See  Visions. 

Gibbon's  Self-Esteem  very  lai-ge,  223. 

Gibson,  John,  186,281.  Engraving 
of  his  head,  28L 

Mr.  P.,  painter,  his  large  or- 
gan of  Size,  and  excellence  in  per- 
spective, 367. 

Gladiators  represented  with  large 
organs  of  Combativeness,  152. 

Glory,  love  of,  whence,  230. 

Gluck's  organ  of  Tune,  411. 

God,  existence  of,  indirectly  proved 
by  the  organ  of  Veneration,  261, 
262.    Demonstrable  by  reason,  454. 

Goldsmith's  writings  display  mode- 
rate Secretiveness,  188.  His  Love 
of  Approbation,  233.  His  verses 
on  Hope,  228. 

Gordon,  James,  murderer,  90,  166, 
280. 

Dr.  Juhn,  admitted  the  cor- 


646 


respondence  between  the  size  of 
the  skull  and  that  of  the  brain, 
74. 

Graminivorous  and  carnivorous  ani- 
mals, difference  between  the  brains 
of,  154.  Secretiveness  of  the  for- 
mer generally  large,  188. 

Grammar,  talent  for,  425. 

Gratitude,  whence  arising,  284. 

Grattan's  style  characterized  by  Con- 
centrativeness,  135. 

Great  men,  why  they  have  not  em- 
braced Phrenology,  588. 

Greek  philosophers  calumniated  each 
other,  3.  Persecuted  by  the  peo- 
ple, ib. 

Greeks,  ancient,  skulls  of,  581.  En- 
graving of  one,  ib. 

Gregory,  Dr.  admits  the  connexion 
of  the  mind  with  the  brain,  9. 

Greyhound's  Combativeness  smaller 
than  that  of  the  bull-dog,  153. 

Grief  and  Joy,  analysis  of,  508. 

Grrffiths,  murderer,  248. 

Guilt,  sense  of,  the  effect  of  Consci- 
entiousness, 279. 

Guise,  Due  de,  remarkable  case  of 
injury  of  the  bram,  612,  614. 

11.,  Mrs.  87,  271,  281.  Engravmg  of 
her  head,  231. 

Habit,  analysis  of,  519. 

Haggart,  David,  murderer  and  rob- 
ber, 82,  87, 152, 166, 186,  228,  236, 
271,  279,  281.  Engraving  of  his 
head,  281. 

Hall,  Sir  James,  his  organ  of  Weight 
large,  369. 

Haller  saw  the  necessity  of  a  plurality 
of  cerebral  organs,  19,  20.  Had 
large  face  and  brain,  42.  Placed 
the  soul  in  the  brain,  46. 

Handel's  Tune  large,  419.  Engi-av- 
Lug  of  his  head,  ib. 


Hands  of  man  not  the  origin  of  his 
arts,  338. 

Happiness  consists  in  the  harmoni- 
ous gratification  of  the  faculties, 
461. 

Hardwicke,  Lord  Chancellor,  his 
Acquisitiveness  large,  193. 

Hare,  Wilham,  murderer,  166,  248. 
Profile  ofthe  head  of,  81. 

Hares  aiid  rabbits,  difference  of  their 
skulls,  215. 

Hai-mony  and  Melody,  what,  410, 
411. 

Harvey  and  his  discoveries,  how 
treated  by  his  contemporaries,  3, 
592. 

Hats,  diversity  of  sizes  of,  28,  534. 

Haydn's  organ  of  Tune  large,  411, 
418. 

Haydon,  Mr.  painter,  his  organs  of 
Constructiveness,  Coloring,  and 
Causality  large,  210,  378,  451, 
543. 

Hazlitt's  Ideality  large,  317.  Part  of 
a  review  of  Lord  Byron's  Trage- 
dies attributed  to  him,  ib.  Mani- 
fests the  sentiment  of  Wonder, 
298. 

Head,  engi-aving  of,  as  divided  into 
regions  by  Dolci,  20.  Different 
shape  of,  in  males  and  females,  119. 
Relation  between  its  size  and  the 
voice,  412.  Effects  of  its  great  and 
small  size,  528. 

Heaman,  murderer,  166. 

Hearing,  sense  of,  350.  Not  the  ori- 
gin of  Music  and  Speech,  ib. 

Heart  not  the  seat  of  the  tender  affec- 
tions, 40.  Supposed  by  Aristotle 
to  be  the  seat  ofthe  fsoul,  46, 

Helvetius,  his  eiToneous  theory,  that 
man  owes  his  arts  to  the  structure 
ofhis  hands,  338. 

Henri  Quatre,  his  Benevolence  large. 


INDEX. 


647 


247.  His  forehead  appears  to  slope, 

433.    His  Comparison  lai-ge,  440. 

Herschel's    Constructiveness    large, 

210. 
Hette,    Dr.    110,    228,     235,     243, 

251. 
Hindoos  have  small  brains,  28.  En- 
gravings of  skulls  of,  167,190,  567. 
Their  sentiment  of  truth  w^eak,  281. 
Their  language  figurative,  437. 
Account  of  their  brains  and  char- 
acter, 566.  Notices  of  their  devel- 
opement,  87,  90,  160,  167,  187, 
223,243. 
Historians,  Eventuality  essential  to, 

406. 
Hobbes  denied  the  existence  of  the 
sentiment    of  Benevolence,    258, 
and  of  the  moral  sense,  272,  284. 
Hog's  brain,  93. 

Home,  Sir  Everard,  obsei-vations  on 
his  proposed  mode  of  investigating 
the  functions  of  the  brain,  618. 
Homer's  Ideality  represented  large, 
305.  Supposed  cause  of  his  ge- 
nius, 534. 
Honor,  laws  of,  on  what  founded, 

276. 
Hood's  case  of  a  patient  who  lost  the 

use  of  language,  41 1, 421,  485. 
Hope,  one  of  the  higher  sentiments, 
Dr.  Gall's  views  of,  286.  Its  func- 
tions, ib.  Its  efifects  on  the  char- 
acter, 287.  Assuages  fear  of  death, 
289.  Favors  the  exercise  of  faith, 
and  disposes  to  belief  in  a  life  to 
come,  ib.  Admitted  by  metaphy- 
sicians, ib. 

• organ  of,  its  situation,  286. 

Not  admitted  by  Dr.  Gall,  ib.     Its 
deficiency  predisposes  to  despon- 
dency and  suicide,  288.    Its  effects 
in  combination,  539. 
Hoppe,  Dr.  his  views  of  Concentra- 


tiveness,  127,  and  Alimentiveness, 
174. 

Horses,  shy  and  timid,  may  be  dis- 
tinguished by  the  appearance  of 
their  heads,  154.  Then'  Love  of 
Approbation,  235.  Then-  Bene- 
volence, 254. 

Humboldt,  brother  of  the  traveller,  his 
lai-ge  organs  of  Number  and  Order, 
396,  399. 

Hume,  David,  his  theory  of  virtue, 
272,  285.  Displays  great  Causal- 
ity, 451.  His  ideas  on  the  evidence 
of  existence  of  mind  and  matter, 
453.  On  the  pleasure  derived  fi-om 
a  mournful  tragedy,  460.  On  Joy 
and  Grief,  581. 

Mr.     Joseph,     his    Ideality 

small,  87.  His  Comparison  large, 
440.  His  large  head  and  power- 
ful mind,  529. 

Humility,  caused  by  deficiency  of 
Self-Esteem,  219. 

Humor,  influence  of  Secretiveness 
in  producing,  184.  Distinguished 
from  wit,  184. 

Hunger  and  Thu'st  distinguishable 
from  Appetite,  175. 

Hunter,  Mi\  John,  anatomist,  disease 
of  his  organ  of  Weight,  372. 

Hunting,  natural  appetite  for,  156. 

Hussey,  murderer,  166. 

Hutcheson,  Dr.  on  the  desire  of 
wealth  and  poAver,  191.  Maintains 
the  existence  of  a  moral  sense,  255, 
275. 

Hydrocephalus,  239. 

Hypocrisy,  lying  and  dissimulation, 
prompted  by  Secretiveness,  182. 

Ideality,  one  of  the  higher  sentiments, 
produces  a  desu-e  for  exquisitene^s 
and  perfection,  305.  Authors  in 
whose  works  it  is  predominant  or 


648 


INDEX. 


deficient,  306.  Its  effects  in  com- 
bination with  other  faculties,  307, 
*309,  541.  Little  displayed  by 
quakers,  &c.  309.  Its  gratifica- 
tion provided  for  in  nature,  308. 
Its  effects  in  private  life,  307,  309. 
Its  abuses,  311.  An  important 
plement  in  the  constitution  of  man 
as  a  progi-essive  being,  314.  Dif- 
ferent effects  produced  by  sublime 
scenery  in  two  minds  in  which  it 
was  strong  and  weak,  316.  Its 
effects  on  style,  317. 

Ideality,  organ  of,  its  situation,  303. 
History  of  its  discovery,  304.  Large 
in  poets,  ib.  Deficient  in  savages 
and  most  criminals,  308.  Engra- 
vings of  heads  in  which  it  is  large 
or  small,  310.  Its  back  part  con-  . 
jectured  to  be  a  separate  organ, 
310.     Its  disease,  311. 

Ideas  do  not  originate  from  the  ex- 
ternal senses,  337,  340.  Are  form- 
ed only  by  the  intellect,  468.  As- 
sociation of,  499. 

Identity,  personal,  feelmg  of,  99,  222, 
406,  498. 

Idiocy,  partial,  explicable  only  by  a 
plurality  of  cerebral  organs,  15. 

Idiots  have  small  or  diseased  brains,28. 

Imagination,  what,  481. 

Imitation,  a  primaiy  faculty,  indis- 
pensable to  artists,  335.  Its  ma- 
nifestation in  private  life,  ib.  Ne- 
cessary to  singers,  412. 

organ  of,  history  of  its  dis- 
co veiy,  335.  Large  in  actors,  336. 
Contributes  to  render  a  poet  or 
author  dramatic,  333.  Engi-aving 
of  two  heads  in  which  it  is  lai-ge 
and  small,  336.  In  combination, 
541. 

Immorality  and  bad  taste,  distinction 
between,  523. 


Immortality  of  the  soul,  289,  595. 

Impatience  and  patience,  507. 

Improvisatori,  conjectural  explana- 
tion of  theu"  genius,  483. 

Individual  personality,  feeling  of, — 
See  Identity. 

Idividuality,  one  of  the  intellectual 
faculties,  its  functions,  357,  435. 
Prompts  to  observation,  357.  Ef- 
fects of  its  deficiency  on  the  char- 
acter, 359.  When  large,  prompts 
to  discovery  by  observation,  360. 
Useful  to  the  artist,  ib.  Usefiil 
to  men  of  business,  403.  General 
observations  on,  433. 

organ    of,  its   situation, 

356.  Its  size,  how  judged  of,  ib. 
Engravings  of  the  heads  of  George 
III.  and  Curran,  in  whom  it  is 
large  and  moderate,  357.  Dis- 
covered by  Dr.  Spurzheim,  ib. 
Its  observation  obstructed  by  the 
frontal  sinus,  361. 

Infimticides  generally  possess  feeble 
Philoprogenitiveness,  119. 

Infatuation,  an  effect  of  large  Firm- 
ness, 269. 

Inhabitiveness,  organ  of,  according 
to  Dr.  Spurzheim,  125 — See  Con- 
strudiveness. 

Injuries  of  the  brain,  their  eflfects 
prove  the  plurality  of  cerebral  or- 
gans, 18.  Answer  to  objections 
that  they  do  not  always  affect  the 
mind,  587,  600. 

Insanity,  sometimes  not  easily  dis- 
tinguishable fi-om  moral  depravity, 
169.  Some  of  the  phenomena  ofj 
explained,  463.  Of  the  intellect- 
ual faculties,  471-8. 

partial,  explicable  only  by 

a  plurality  of  cerebral  organs,  15, 
17.    Examples  of,  170,  463. 

Integuments  of  the  brain,  70. 


INDEX. 


649 


Intellectual  faculties,  what,  105,  337. 

Modes  of  their  activity,  467,  et  seq. 

Theu-  insanity,  472,  475. 
Intoxication,  effects  of,  on  the  mind, 

167,257.    Explanation  of  the  phe- 
nomena of,  372. 
Intriguing    disposition,  arises    from 

Secretiveness,  181. 
Irresolution,  doubts  and   wavering, 

whence  arising,  238. 
ItaUans,  deUght  in  humor,  184.   Their 

Constructiveness  and  Tune  large, 

210,  411. 

Jardine,  Mr.  engineer,  his  organ  of 
Weight  large,  369. 

Jefirey,  Mr.  Francis,  denies  the  con- 
nexion of  mind  with  body,  11. 
Denies  that  size  is  a  measure  of 
power,  25.  His  theory  of  Beauty, 
315, 364.  His  Ideality  not  large,  315. 
Part  of  a  review  of  Lord  Byron's 
Tragedies  assigned  to  him,  317.  On 
Form  and  Size,  368.  On  Coloring, 
375,  380,  386.  His  Compai-ison 
large,  439.    His  good  taste,  525. 

Jei-vis,  Jacob,  engraving  of  his  head, 
showing  large  organ  of  Benevo- 
lence, 244.  His  character,  247. 
His  Imitation  deficient,  336. 

Joan  of  Arc,  appearance  of  St.  Mi- 
chael to,  290. 

Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  an  accurate 
obsei-ver  of  human  natm-e,  38.  On 
Courage,  148.  His  account  of  the 
secretive  character  of  Pope,  182. 
Suspected  to  have  believed  m 
ghosts,  297.  Fond  of  unusual  words 
and  expressions,  ib.  His  lai-ge  head 
and  energy  of  character,  532. 

Joseph,  Mr.  Samuel,  sculptor,  his 
Constructiveness  and  Imitation 
lar^e,  210,  335. 

82- 


Joy  and  Grief,  analysis  of,  508. 

Judges,Conscientiousness  of,  283,494. 

Judgment,  452.    Analysis  of,  490. 

,  correct,  of  one's  own  cause, 

diflicult,  552. 

Jupiter's  forehead  represented  pro- 
mment  by  ancient  artists,  451. 

Jurymen  differently  affected  by  the 
same  arguments,  447,  494. 

Justice,  the  existence  of  an  independ- 
ent sentiment  of,  demonstrated  by 
Phrenology,  274.  Pure  or  abstract, 
whence  resulting,  552. 

Kalmucks  have  large  Acquisitive- 
ness, 199. 

Kames,  Lord,  on  appetite  for  hunt- 
ing, 155.  Admits  Acquisitiveness 
to  be  a  primitive  propensity,  172. 
On  Time,  408.  Admits  twenty 
of  the  phrenological  faculties,  505. 

Kant's  face  small  and  brain  large. 
42.     His  Causality  large,  474. 

Kepler's  Locality  large,  390. 

King,  Dr.  on  avarice,  195. 

Klopstock's  Veneration  represented 
large,  262. 

Knight's  Theoiy  of  Beauty,  364. 

Knowing  or  Perceptive  Faculties. 
— See  Perceptive  Faculties. 

Knox,  John,  his  Combativeness  large, 
149, 159,  538. 

,  Vicesimus,  on  himting,  156. 

Koster's  Account  of  the  Brazil  In- 
dians, 574-6. 

La  Fontaine's  head  large,  527. 

Lake  school  of  poetry  character- 
ized by  Philoprogenitiveness,  118. 
Causes  of  bad  taste  in  it,  522. 

Lambdoidal  sutm-e  of  the  skull,  74. 

Language,  organ  of,  history  of  its 
discovery,  44.    Its  size  how  indi- 


650 


INDEX. 


cated,  419.  Its  functions,  ib.  Ef- 
fects of  its  great  endowment  on 
style,  424.  Effects  of  its  deficiency, 
425.  Supposed  by  Gall  to  be 
double,  426.  Dr.  Spurzheim's 
views  of,  427.  Its  disease,  429, 431. 

Language,  one  of  the  perceptive  fa- 
culties, 419.  Too  extensively  cul- 
tivated in  ordinary  education,  433. 

natural  and  artificial,  351, 

420,  512.    Figurative,  437. 

Languages,  talent  for  learning  the 
spirit  of,  425-6,  428.  Different  na- 
tional, 427. 

Laughter,  causes  of,  319. 

Laws  of  honor,  on  what  founded,  276. 

Lawyers,  Individuality  and  Eventu- 
ality necessary  to,  403.  Effect  of 
large  Conscientiousness   in,  493. 

Legislation,  criminal,  558. 

Leibnitz  had  large  face  and  brain,  42. 

Leo  had  large  face  and  brain,  42. 

Le  Sage's  Individuality  and  Eventu- 
ality large,  404. 

Leslie,  Prof,  his  organ  of  Weight 
large,  369. 

Libeity,  political,  of  the  English, 
probable  cause  of  the,  224. 

Life,  love  of,  supposed  organ  of,  176. 
Its  probable  situation,  178. 

Limits  of  the  human  imderstanding, 
597. 

Lindner's  Constructiveness  large,208. 

Lindsay,  David,  his  style  verbose,  424. 

Lobes  of  the  brain,  79,  586. 

Locality,  one  of  the  perceptive  fa- 
culties. Dr.  Spurzheim  on  the  ana- 
lysis of,  389.  An  element  in  geni- 
us for  geometiy,  391. 

organ  of,  histoiy  of  its  dis- 
covery, 388.  Its  situation,  389. 
Its  effects  on  the  mind,  390.  Large 
in  eminent  navigators,  travellers, 
astronomers  and  geographers,  390. 


Larger  in  men  than  in  women,  392. 
Possessed  by  the  lower  animals, i6. 

Locke,  on  the  difiiculty  of  combating 
old  opinions,  2,  50,  588.  Engrav- 
ing of  his  head,  showing  Ideality 
small,  310.  His  style  plain,  317. 
His  theory  of  Wit,  321.  On  the 
Faculty  of  perceiving  differences, 
323.  On  ideas,  345.  His  Causality 
large,  443.  His  wiitings  chai-ac- 
terized  by  power  of  mind,  552. 

Lockey,  murderer,  166. 

Logan,  Mr.  of  Leith,  his  analogical 
method  of  reasoning,  438. 

Logarithms,  talent  for,  394. 

Logical  consequence  in    argument, 
perception  of,  arises  from  Causali- 
ty,  447. 
Louis  XI.  Secretiveness  of,  181. 

Love  of  Life,  supposed  organ  of,  176. 
Its  probable  situation,  178. 

Love,  physical  or  sexual,  110. 

Love  of  Approbation,  one  of  the  in- 
ferior sentiments,  aim  of,  229.  Its 
effects  on  society,  ib.  Distinguished 
from  Benevolence,  231.  Its  abuses, 
232.  Admitted  by  Reid,  Stewart 
and  Brown,  234.  Its  influence  on 
the  French,  235.  More  active  in 
women  than  in  men,  ib.  Distinc- 
tion between  its  manifestations 
and  those  of  Benevolence,  246. 
An  element  in  correct  taste,  309. 

organ    of,    its 

situation,  228.  History  of  its  dis- 
covery by  Dr.  Gall,  ib.  Effects 
of  its  deficiency,  233.  Possessed 
by  the  lower  animals,  235. 

Lower  orders  have  small  heads,  28. 

Lowther,  Sk  James,  his  Acquisitive- 
ness large,  193. 

Lucifer,  character  of,  249. 

Ludicrous,  feeling  of  the,  whence 
arising,  319,  329. 


INDEX. 


651 


Luther's  Combativeness  large,  149, 
159,538.    . 

Lying  prompted  by  Secretiveness, 
182, 186,  280. 

Lymphatic  temperament,  how  distin- 
guishable, 29.  Its  effects,  ib.  Cause 
of,  according  to  Dr.  Thomas,  94. 

M.,  Rev.  Mr.,  profile  of,  compai-ed 
with  those  of  Burk  and  Hare,  81. 
His  developement,  87,  236,  281. 
Engi'avmgof  the  back  of  his  head, 
first  figure,  109. 

Macdonald,  Lawrence,  sculptor,  544. 

Macinnes,  Mary,  mm-derer,  142,  152, 
166,  233,  260. 

Mackenzie,  Sir  G.  S.,  on  gratitude, 
284.  His  organ  of  Weight  large, 
369.  On  weight  and  resistance, 
373.     On  relative  position,  389. 

Maclachlan,  his  large  organ  of 
Weight,  370. 

Macvicar's  Tune  large,  418. 

Madness. — See  Insanity. 

Magendie  asserts  that  the  brain  is  the 
organ  of  thought,  9 ;  that  there  is 
generally  a  dkect  proportion  be- 
tween its  size  and  capacity  of  the 
mind,  28 ;  that  its  size  may  be  dis- 
covered by  measm-mg  the  skull, 
73.  His  experiments  on  the  cere- 
bellum, 111. 

Magnetism,  animal,  490. 

Malebranche,  his  Veneration  repre- 
sented large,  262.  On  the  faculty 
of  perceiving  differences,  323. 

Malthus's  Account  of  the  Noith 
American  Indians,  572. 

Man,  social  nature  of,  145.  A  pro- 
gressive being,  314. 

Mandeville's  theory  of  vutue,  35, 
272,  284. 

Mariotte  never  could  repeat  Newton's 
experiments,  4. 


Marlborough,  Duke  of,  his  Acquisi- 
tiveness large,  193. 

Marriage,  538. 

Marshall,  Dr.  case  of  insane  Secre- 
tiveness from,  189. 

Mai-vellousness,  298. — See  Wonder. 

Master  and  servants,  relation  of  their 
natural  qualities,  556. 

Mastoid  process,  what,  75. 

Materialism,  objection  that  Phreno- 
logy leads  to,  considered,  593. 

Mathematical  language,  precision  of, 
421. 

Mathematicians,  faculties  of,  391, 395. 

Matthews,  comedian,  his  large  or- 
gan of  Individuahty,  359. 

Maxwell,  robber,  engraving  of  his 
head,  547. 

Measurements  of  skulls,  tables  of,  89, 
583. 

Mechanicians,  their  organs  of  Con- 
structiveness,  208 ;  Size,  368. 

Medical  men,  objection  that  they 
disbeUeve  Phrenology,  considered, 
591. 

Medulla  oblongata,  what,  55,  70. 

Medullary  matter  of  the  brain,  68, 70. 

Melancholy,  cause  of,  240-1,  288. 

Melancthon,  engraving  of  his  excel- 
lent head,  536. 

Melody  and  harmony,  what,  410, 412. 

Memory,  analysis  of,  483.  How  af- 
fected by  age  and  disease,  486.  ' 

Memory  of  foniis,  361, 485 ;  of  colors, 
374 ;  of  places,  388 ;  of  numbers, 
394;  of  events,  399  ;  of  music,  409; 
of  words,  419  ;  of  names,  432. 

Mental  derangement. — See  Insanity. 

Metaphorical  language,  whence,  437. 

Metaphysicians,  neglected  organiza- 
tion, or  supposed  the  mind  to  be 
material,  34, 37.  Differ  widely  from 
each  other,  35,  45.  Reflected  on 
their  own  Consciousness,  39, 496. 


652 


INDEX. 


Metaphysics,  talent  for,  444. 

Meyer,  Mons.,  a  lover  of  wanderiBg, 
389. 

Migration  of  birds,  393. 

Milliner  of  Vienna,  case  of  lai'ge 
Constructiveness  in  a,  208. 

MUne,  Mr.'  James,  Dr.  Spurzheim's 
visit  to  his  workshop,  209.  His 
case  of  inability  to  distinguish  col- 
ors, 375. 

Milton,  262.  His  writings  chai-acter- 
ized  by  great  power  of  mind,  532. 

Mimicry,  talent  for,  ai-ises  from  the 
organ  of  Imitation,  assisted  by  In- 
dividuaUty,  332,  359. 

Mind  known  only  in  connexion  with 
body,  6,  21,  34,  61, 113.  Whether 
simple  or  compound,  1,  99.  Its 
substance  unknown,  594. 

Mirabeau  had  large  face  and  brain,  42. 

Miraculous  events,  origin  of  belief 
in,  294. 

Mirthfulness. — See  Wit. 

Misers,  large  Acquisitiveness  of,  199. 

Mitchell,  110.  Engi-aving  of  his  head, 
second  figure,  1 09. 

Mnemonics,  503. 

Modes  of  activity  of  the  faculties, 
489.  Of  the  propensities  and  sen- 
timents, ib.  Of  the  knowing  and 
reflecting  faculties,  467. 

Monkeys,  their  brams,  93.  Have 
large  Philoprogenitiveness  &  Love 
of  Approbation,  114,  235.  Then- 
hands  nicely  formed,  338.  Have 
no  Causality,  446. 

Monomania,  what,  17.  Proves  the 
plurality  of  cerebral  organs,  ib. 

Monro  Primus,  teaches  the  relation 
between  size  and  power  of  the  ex- 
ternal senses,  25. 

Montaigne  had  large  face  and  brain, 
42.    His  Form  large,  .365. 

Moore's  Comparison,  322,  399,  4.39. 


Engraving  of  his  profile,  399.  His 
style,  422,  439,  443.  Bad  taste  of 
some  of  his  early  verses,  522. 

Moralists  have  successfully  obsei-ved 
human  nature,  38. 

Moralsjdiscordant  theories  of,  272,284. 

Moral  sense  denied  by  some  philoso- 
phers, 272,  285. 

sentiments,  244,  et  seq.  Erro- 
neously derived  firom  viscera,  40. 

Morier's  Travels  in  Persia,  an  illus- 
tration of  the  difference  of  size  of 
PhUoprogenitivcness  in  men  and 
women,  from,  119. 

Motives  of  actions,  different,  applied 
to  different  minds,  62. 

Motor  nerves,  54,  56,  et  seq. 

Mountford,Mrs.  murderer,case  of,l7]. 

Mozart's  organ  of  Tune,  41 1. 

Mules,  their  Love  of  Approbation,235. 

Mummies,  243,  580. 

Murat,  Napoleon's  description  of  the 
charact'jr  of,  150.  His  energy  of 
mmd,  528. 

Murderers,  what  organs  they  have 
large,  152, 164.  What  organs  de- 
ficient iu,  248. 

Muscular  nerves,  54-56. 

Music,  not  the  result  of  the  sense  of 
hearmg,350.  Time  in,  407, 410.  Not 
pei'ceived  or  judged  of  by  the  ear, 
ib.  Genius  for,  by  what  produced, 
411, 544.  Mr.Scott's  essays  on,  411. 

Musical  composition,  talent  for,  411. 

Mysteiy,  love  of,  arises  from  Secre- 
tiveness,  182. 

Names,  talent  for  memory  of|  whence 
arising,  432. 

Napoleon.  —  See  Bonaparte. 

Nations  with  small  brains  conquer- 
ed by  those  with  large,  28.  Coin- 
cidence between  their  characters 
and  the    developement    of   their 


653 


brains,  561.  Table  of  measure- 
ments of  the  skulls  of  different,  583. 

Natm-al  language,  350,  420,  512,  513, 
516. 

Navigators,  eminent,  their  Locality 
large,  390. 

Negroes  have  prominent  jaw-bones, 
41.  Their  developement  and  cha- 
racter, 120,  198,  243,  260,  576. 
Then-  limited  numeration,  396.  En- 
gi'aving  of  the  skull  of  one,  577. 

Nero,  character  of,  165.  His  De- 
structiveness  large,  ib. ;  and  Be- 
nevolence deficient,  249. 

Nerves,  relation  of  size  to  power  of, 
23.  General  view  of  the  anatomy 
and  functions  of,  51. 

of  sensation  and  motion,  54, 

586. 

Nervous  temperament,  how  distin- 
guishable, 30.  Its  effects,  ib.  Con- 
duces to  refinement,  524. 

New  Hollanders,  eugi-aving  of  skulls 
of,  33,  207,  569.  Su-  W.  Scott's  de- 
scription of  them,  33,  207.  Their 
Causality  small,  451.  Description 
of  their  heads  and  chai-acter,  569. 
Captain  Cook's  account  of  them, 
568.    Their  want  of  curiosity,  571. 

New  opinions  generally  opposed,  2, 
4,  50,  588. 

New  Zealanders,  character  and  brains 
of,  572.  Engraving  of  the  skull  of 
one,  ib. 

News,  love  of,  arises  fi-om  the  sen- 
timent of  Wonder,  295. 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  opposition  to  his 
discoveries,  4.  His  large  Venera- 
tion, 262;  Weight,  370;  and  Lo- 
cality, 390. 

Ney  and  Murat,  Napoleon's  descrip- 
tion of  the  characters  of,  150. 

Nicolai,  case  of  spectral  illusions,  472. 

Nisbet,  murderer,  166. 


Nomenclature  of  Phrenology,105,628. 

Nominalists  and  Realists,  444. 

North  American  Indians  have  large 
Philoprogenitiveness,  121.  Their 
power  of  enduring  tortm-e,  ]96, 
573.  Their  unimprovable  nature, 
563,  573.  Account  of  their  char- 
acter and  heads,  572.  Engi-aving 
of  the  skuU  of  one,  ib. 

Nostalgia,  supposed  to  result  from 
disease  of  the  organ  of  Adhesive- 
ness, 145. 

Novelty,  love  of,  ai-ises  fi-om  the  sen- 
timent of  Wonder,  295. 

Number,  one  of  the  perceptive  facul- 
ties, situation  and  histoiy  of  the 
discovery  of  its  organ,  393-4.  Its 
fimctions,  395.  Effects  of  its  de- 
ficiency and  predomiuance,  398. 
Disease  of  its  organ,  396.  Sup- 
posed by  Gall  to  be  necessary  to 
musical  composers,  412. 

Nymphomania,  its  influence  on  the 
tone  of  the  voice,  413. 

Obedience  of  children  to  their  pa- 
rents, how  best  promoted,  516.  To 
superiors  in  rank,  263. 

Objections  to  Phrenology  considered 
— That  there  are  clever  men  vsith 
retreating  foreheads,  433 ;  that  the 
science  is  not  new,  584  ;  that  the 
faculties  are  thuty-five  in  number, 
585 ;  that  the  different  cerebral 
organs  cannot  be  distinguished  by 
dissection,  585 ;  that  the  brain  has 
been  injured  without  affecting  tlie 
mind,  587,  600 ;  that  no  great  men 
or  anatomists  have  embraced  the 
science,  588,  590 ;  that  every  body 
does  not  believe  in  it,  591 ;  that  it 
leads  to  materialism,  593. 

Obsei-vation,  talent  for,  conferred  by 
Individuality  and  Eventuality,  357, 


654 


INDEX. 


358,  403.  Discovery  by,  prompted 
by  Individuality,  359.  Does  not 
reveal  the  substance  of  mind,  596. 

Obstinacy,  the  effect  of  large  Fii-m- 
ness,  269. 

Occipital  spine,  what,  75. 

Old  age,its  effects  on  the  memoiy,486. 

Opinions,  difference  of,  492. 

Orators  aided  by  Comparison,  438. 

Oratoiy,  talent  for,  544. 

Order,  one  of  the  intellectual  facul- 
ties, its  objects,  397.  Size  of  its 
organ  how  distinguished,  398. 

Organs,  cerebi*al,  their  plurality  de- 
monstrated, 13, 21.  Particular,  con- 
nected with  particular  faculties,  33, 
etseq.  The  functions  of,  not  discov- 
erable by  dissection,  40.  Definition 
of  the  term,  62.  Duplicity  and  ex- 
tent of,  79.  Length  and  breadth 
of,  how  ascertained,  82,  84,  note. 
Boundaries  of,  82, 587.  Theii-  rela- 
tive, not  absolute,  size,  a  criterion  of 
the  predominance  of  the  faculties 
which  they  manifest,  91.  Talent  of 
recollecting  their  situation,  391. 
The  largest  most  prone  to  activi- 
ty, 464.  Their  airangement,  501. 
Effects  of  theu'  size  and  activity  on 
the  manifestation  of  the  faculties, 
527, 532.  Their  effects  in  combina- 
tion, 535.  Their  difference  of  ap- 
pearance discoverable,  586.  Then- 
plurality  explains  many  phenome- 
na otherwise  unaccountable,  521, 
608,616.  Classification  of,  628, 630. 

Ormerod,  Ann,  her  small  organ  of 
Tune,    419.     Engraving    of   her 
head,  ib. 
Ossification  of  the  skull,  70. 
Owen,  Mr.  of  New  Lanark,  denies 
the  existence  of  the  faculty  of  Ac- 
quisitiveness, 197. 
Ox's  brain,  93. 


Pain  and  pleasiu-e,  what,  507. 

Pain,  power  of  repressing  the  out- 
ward expression  of,  whence,  187. 

Painters,  eminent,  their  Constructive- 
ness,  210;  Form,  364;  and  Size, 
367,  368.  Combination  of  facul- 
ties in,  540. 

Painting,  talent  for,  from  what  facul- 
ties arising,  309,  335,  360. 

Paley  denied  the  existence  of  the 
moral  sense,  35,  273,  285. 

Pallet,  James,  murderer,  82. 

Panic,  whence  arising,  and  what, 
238,  513. 

Parallelism  of  the  tables  of  the  skull. 
73. 

Pardies,  Father,  opposed  Ne"\vton's 
discoveries,  4. 

Park,  Mungo,  his  Locahty  represent- 
ed large,  390. 

Pamell's  Hermit,  illustration  of  Con- 
scientiousness from,  283. 

Pariy,  Captain,  engi-aving  of  his 
large  head,  529. 

Partial  genius,  14.  Insanity,  15, 17, 
170,  463.  Injuries  of  the  brain, 
18,  609,  et  seq. 

Partiality,  the  effect  of  deficient  Con- 
scientiousness, 283. 

Passion,  what,  506. 

Patience  results  from  Firmness,  270. 
Analysis  of,  507. 

Patterson,  Dr.  G.  M.  his  account  of 
the  Phrenology  of  Hindostan,  566. 

Perception  is  the  function  of  the 
brain,  not  of  the  external  senses,  or 
of  the  nerves,  341.  Is  the  lowest 
degree  of  activity  of  the  intellectual 
faculties,  468.  Treated  by  the  meta- 
physicians as  a  general  faculty,  469. 

Perceptive  faculties,  what,  105.  Fa- 
culties perceptive  of  the  existence, 
356,  387,  and  relations  of  exter- 
nal objects,  388,  433.    General  ob- 


655 


servations  on  them,  433.  ICach 
probably  adapted  to  the  natural 
laws  of  its  objects,  447,  note. 
Modes  of  then-  activity,  468,  et  seq. 

Perfection,  desire  of,  produced  by 
IdeaUty,  306. 

Perseverance  conferred  by  Firmness, 
268-9-70. 

Personal  identity,  feeling  of,  99,  223, 
406,  498. 

Personality,  double,  cases  of,  100, 487. 

—  individual,  supposed  by 

some  phrenologists  to  arise  from 
Self-Esteem,  240. 

Personification  of  notions  and  phe- 
nomena arises  from  Individuality, 
360,  363,  400. 

Perspective,  idea  of,  produced  by 
the  faculty  of  Size,  366-368,  388. 

Peruvian,  engraving  of  the  skull  of 
a,  (smaU  No.  2.),  124. 

Philology,  talent  for,  426,  429. 

PhUoprogenitiveness,  an  original 
propensity,  113.  Illustrations  of, 
from  Byron's  Cain,  116.  Its  organ 
and  manifestations  easily  observed, 
lb.  Its  influence  on  the  character, 
116.  Its  abuses,  117.  Feeble  in 
infanticides,  118.  Stronger  in  wo- 
men than  in  men,  119.  Distinct 
from  Benevolence,  121. 

PhUoprogenitiveness,  organ  of,  113. 
Its  situation,  113.  History  of  its 
discovery,  ib.  Produces  love  of 
children,  115.  Large  in  the  Ne- 
groes, &c.  120.  Examples  of  its 
disease,  123.  Engi-avings  of  two 
skulls  in  which  it  is  large  and 
small,  124. 

Philosophers,  Greek,  how  treated,  3. 

Phrenology  defined,  1.  Date  of  its 
publication,  ib.  Great  opposition 
to,  1,  6,  589.  Pi-iuciples  of,  1,  et 
seq.  65,  et  seq.    History  of  its  dis- 


covery by  Dr.  Gall,  44,  50.  Pro- 
gress of  the  discovery  of,  49. 
Demonstrates  the  existence  of  a 
moral  sense,  274.  Its  simplicity  and 
hai-mony  with  nature,  436.  Effects 
of  Causality  in  producing  belief  in, 
452.  Its  practical  utility,  465.  Why 
it  does  not  enable  us  to  predict  ac- 
tions, 553.  Obj  ections  to,  con  si  der- 
ed,  584,  622.  A  new  science,  584. 
Why  not  embraced  by  great  men, 
588.  Explains  the  phenomena  of 
injuries  of  the  brain,  608. 

Physiologists  have  failed  to  ascertain 
the  organs  of  the  faculties,  39. 

Pia  mater,  what,  71. 

Pictures  raise  emotions  of  sublimity, 
how,  462. 

Piety,  filial,  arises  chiefly  from  Ve- 
neration, 263. 

Pineal  gland  supposed  by  Descartes 
to  be  the  seat  of  the  soul,  46. 

Pinel  on  partial  insanity,  15, 19.  On 
folie  raisonante,  17.  Cases  of  in- 
sanity from,  153, 170, 189, 228,  241, 
268,  431. 

Pitt,  engraving  of  his  forehead,  399. 
His  Eventuality  and  Comparison, 
439.     His  Causality  moderate,  451. 

Plato  placed  the  soul  in  the  brain, 
46.  His  Causality  represented 
large,  456. 

Platonists,  their  opinions  regarding 
ideas,  345. 

Playfair,  Prof,  on  the  difficulty  of 
combating  old  opinions,  2.  On  the 
treatment  of  Galileo,  3.  On  the 
opposition  to  NcA'vton's  discoveries, 
4.  His  large  Comparison  and 
Causality,  438. 

Pleasure  and  pain,  what,  507. 

Plexus  of  nei'ves,  what,  55. 

Plurality  of  faculties  and  cerebral 
organs  demonstrated,  13,    et  seq. 


656 


INDEX. 


Explains  many  of  the  mental  phe- 
nomena, 521,  608,  616. 
Poetry,  fi-om  what  faculties  arising, 
318,  533.  Use  of  machinery  in, 
prompted  by  Wonder,  298.  Fig- 
urative, 439. 
Poets  have  observed  human  nature, 
38.     Their  Ideahty  large,  304, 305. 

dramatic,  their  Imitation  large, 

333. 
Politics,  party,  bias  of  judgment  in,553. 
Pope,  secretive    character   of,    182, 
188.     His  idea  of  Hope  producing 

belief  in  a  future  state,  289.     His 

Individuality  and  Eventuality,  401, 

442.     His  style,  ib. 
Posterior  lobe  of  the  brain,  the  seat 

of  the  animal  propensities,  80. 
Power  and  dominion,  love  of,  whence 

arising,  223,  224. 
Power,  rank  and  titles,  respect  for, 

produced  by  Veneration,  264. 
Power  of  mind,  distinct  from  activity, 

96,  527,  533.     Produced  by  large 

brain,  97,  527. 
Practical  application  of  the  principles 

of  Phrenology,  78.  Of  the  doctiine 

of  the  combinations  of  size  and  ac- 
tivity of  organs,  553. 
Praise,  lovd  of,  229. 
Pratt,  Miss,  in  'The  Inheritance,'  a 

pei-sonification    of    Individuality, 

358. 
Preachei-s  dwell  on  the  threats  or 

promises  of  the  Gospel,  according 

to  their  endowment  of  Destruc- 

tiveness  and  Moral  Sentiment,  163. 

Effects  of  small  heads  of,  531.— 

See  Clergymen. 
Pride,  an  abuse  of  Self-Esteem,  219. 

Distinguished    from   vanity,   229, 

234. 
Principles  of  Phi-enology,  5,  et  seq. 

61,  et  seq. 


Prize-fights,  152. 

Processes,  mastoid  and  occipital, 
what,  75. 

Profusion,  an  abuse  of  Benevolence, 
249. 

Propensities,  108,  200.  Modes  of 
their  activity,  459. 

Propensity,  what,  105. 

Property,  idea  of,  aiises  from  4^cqui- 
sitiveness,  197. 

Proportions  of  different  parts  of  the 
brain,  an  index  of  character,  79, 555. 

Prudent  character,  Secretiveness  ne- 
cessary to  a,  180, 

Punctuality  in  keeping  appointments 
and  paying  debts,  arises  from  Con- 
scientiousness, 275,  276. 

Pythagoras  placed  the  soul  in  the 
brain,  46. 

Quaintness  of  style,  arises  from  Se- 
cretiveness, 188. 

Quakers  display  little  Ideality,  307 

Quickly,  Mrs.  an  illustration  of  Indi- 
viduality and  Eventuality,  405. 

Quoits,  talent  of  excellence  at,  369. 

Rabbits  and  hares,  difference  of  their 

skuUs,  215. 
Raeburn,  Sii*  Henry,  his  Consti-uc- 

tiveness  large,  210.    His  style  of 

painting,  545. 
Ramus  persecuted  for  writing  against 

Aristotle,  5. 
Rank,  titles  and  power,  respect  for, 

produced  by  Veneration,  264. 
Ranks  of  society,  subordination  of, 

263.    Difference  of  manners  of  the 

higher  and  lower,  how  explained, 

549. 
Raphael's    skull,    engi'aving  of,  33 

207,    536.      His     developement, 

87,  110,  207,  243,  261,  336,  440, 

541.    His  representation  of  Christ's 


INDEX. 


657 


head,  261.    His  head  large,  527. 
Character  of  his  works,  541. 

Rashness  and  precipitation,  wlience 
arising,  239. 

lleaUsts  and  nominaUsts,  444. 

Reason,  what,  436. 

Reasoning  by  analogy,  437. 

Refinement  of  manners,  susceptibil- 
ity of,  by  what  produced,  335,  523. 

Reflecting  faculties,  what,  105,  436. 
Modes  of  their  activity,  466,  et  seq. 

Regret,  feeling  of,  what,  280. 

Reid,  Dr.  Thomas,  treats  of  Deske 
of  Power,  224,  and  Desire  of  Es- 
teem, 234.  Maintains  the  existence 
of  the  moral  sense,  273,  285.  On 
the  external  senses,  285.  His  an- 
swer to  Berkeley's  argument  about 
evidence  of  existence,  454.  His 
Causality  not  large,  451. 

John,  thief,  secretive  character 

of,  186. 

Relative  suggestion  of  Dr.  Brown, 
453. 

Religion,  natural,  the  effect  of  Ven- 
eration, 260,  266. 

Religious  fanaticism  the  effect  of 
excited  Wonder,  299. 

insanity,  267,  284. 

institutions,  their  effects  on 

the  character  of  nations,  265. 

Remorse  caused  by  Conscientious- 
ness, 279.  Does  not  always  punish 
criminals,  ib.  280. 

Rennell  on  the  effects  of  injuries  of 
the  brain,  600. 

Repentance,  the  effect  of  Conscien- 
tiousness, 279. 

Resemblance  and  difference,  percep- 
tion of,  323,  325,  437. 
Reserve  of  chai-acter,  whence,  186. 
Resistance,    faculty    of,    373. — See 
Weight. 

83 


Respect  and  deference,  feelings  of, 
produced  by  Veneration,  260,  264. 

Respiratory  nerves,  58. 

Revelation,  260. 

Reynolds,  Sk  Joshua,  his  impressions 
on  seeing  Raphael's  pictures,  543. 

Robespierre's  Benevolence  deficient, 
249. 

Roget,  Dr.  supposes  the  functions  of 
the  brain  to  be  still  incomprehensi- 
ble, 42. 

Rope-dancers  manifest  strongly  the 
faculty  of  Concentrativeness,  140. 

Roscoe,  440. 

Rosini's  organ  of  Tune,  411. 

Ross,  Ann,  case  of,  187. 

Captain,  on  the  notation  of  de- 

velopement,  83. 

Rotherham,  John,  murderer,  166, 280. 

Roughness  and  smoothness,  percep- 
tion of,  364. 

Rousseau,  J.  J.,  denies  the  social  na- 
ture of  man,  145. 

J.    J.,   engraving    of  his 

head,  showing  Ideality  large,  310. 
Diseased  excitement  of  that  organ 
in  him,  311. 

Rush,  Dr.  on  partial  idiocy,  15,  16. 
On  tendency  to  theft,  202.  Cases 
of  insanity  from,  213. 

Sagittal  suture  of  the  skull,  75. 

Saints,  their  organs  of  Veneration 
represented  large,  261. 

Sandwich  Islanders,  account  of  their 
character  and  heads,  579.  En- 
graving of  the  skull  of  one,  ib. 

Sanguine  temperament,  how  distin- 
guishable, 29.  Its  effects,  30. 
Cause  of,  according  to  Dr.  Thomas, 
94.     Conduces  to  refinement,  524. 

Sarcasm,  satire  and  invective  sharp- 
ened by  Destructiveness,  161. 


658 


Satire,  produced  by  Destructlveness 

and  Wit,  161,  331. 
Savages  have  generally  a  large  organ 

of  Philoprogenitiveness,  121.  Their 

compression  of  the  infant  head,  569. 
Scepticism,  by  what  caused,  277. 
Schsenberger,  painter,  his  powerful 

faculty  of  Locality,  388. 
Scheidler,  a  companion  of  Gall,  388. 
Scientific  men,  their  perceptive  often 

larger  than  their  reflecting  organs, 

359,  360. 

Scolding  women,  voices  of,  413. 

Scots  have  generally  small  Individu- 
ality, 360. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  his  description  of 
the  New  Hollanders,  33.  His  de- 
scription of  King  Robert  Bmce's 
vengeance  on  Cormac  Doil,  157. 
Recognises  several  phrenological 
faculties,  ib.  His  account  of  the 
secretive  cliaracter  of  Napoleon 
and  Louis  XL,  181.  His  delinea- 
tion of  Cormac  Doil's  Secretive- 
ness,  188.  His  imitation  large,  333. 
On  supernatural  personages,  293. 
His  Wonder  large,  298.  His  In- 
dividuality and  Eventuality  large, 

360,  404.  His  large  Locality  and 
pictorial  description  of  sceneiy, 
392.     His  retentive  memory,  484. 

Scott,  Mr.  WiUiam,  on  Amativeness, 
112.  On  Philoprogenitiveness, 
117.  On  Adhesiveness,  142.  On 
Secretiveness,  181.  On  humor, 
184.  On  the  genius  and  cerebral 
developement  of  Raphael,  207.  On 
the  functions  of  the  organ  of  Wit, 
324.  His  theoiy  of  acting,  333. 
On  Music,  411.  On  Comparison, 
437.  On  the  arrangement  of  the 
cerebral  organs,  501. 

murderer,  ominous  dreams  of, 

479. 


Scripture  much  addi'essed  to  the  fa- 
culty of  Comparison,  438. 
Sculpture,  talent  for,  from  what  fa- 
culties arismg,  208,  309,  335,  543. 
Sea,  love  of  the,  in  landsmen,  gene- 
rally caused  by  large  organs  of 
Wonder,  297. 
Sea-sickness,  Mr.  Simpson's  views  of 

its  probable  cause,  373. 
Second  sight,  whence  arising,  302. 
Secretaries,  Eventuality,  essential  to, 

405. 
Secretiveness,  one  of  the  propensi- 
ties, nature  and  objects  of  it,  179. 
Its  abuses,  182,  183.  An  ingre- 
dient in  humor,  184.  Stronger  in 
the  English  and  Italians  than  in 
the  French,  184.  Gives  the  power 
of  repressing  the  outward  expres- 
sion of  pain,  187.  Illustration  of, 
from  Su-  W.  Scott,  187.  Its  effects 
on  the  style  of  authors,  ib.  Prompts 
generals  to  employ  stratagems,  188. 
Not  admitted  by  metaphysicians, 
189. 
Secretiveness,  organ  of,  its  situation, 
178.  History  of  its  discoveiy,  ib. 
Large  m  actors  and  artists,  185. 
Large  in  thieves,  186.  Its  situation 
in  the  heads  of  the  lower  animals, 
188.  Its  disease,  ib.  Engravings 
of  two  skulls,  in  which  it  is  large 
and  small,  190. 
Sedgewick,  Mr.  his  essay  on  the 
compression  of  the  infant  head  by 
barbarous  nations,  569. 
Self-Esteem,  one  of  the  inferior  sen- 
tunents,  uses  of,  218.  Its  abuses, 
219.  Gives  rise  to  egotism,  220. 
Supposed  by  some  ^ihrenologists 
to  be  the  origin  of  the  feeling  of 
individual  personality,  223.  Ad- 
mitted by  Reid,  Stewart,  and 
Brown,  224. 


659 


JSelf-Esteem  organ  of,  its  situation, 
216.  Histoiy  of  its  discoveiy,  216. 
Cases  illustrative  of,  217.  Engrav- 
ings of  two  heads  in  which  it  is 
large  and  moderate,  218.  Its  defi- 
ciency predisposes  to  humility,  219. 
Its  physiognomy,  224.  Possessed 
by  the  lower  animals,  225.  Its  dis- 
ease, 227.  Generally  larger  in  men 
than  in  women,  228. 

Selfishness,  by  what  produced,  198, 
219,  248. 

Sensation,  what,  468.  Nei-ves  of,  54, 
56. 

Senses,  external,  their  power  in  pro- 
portion to  the  size  of  theii*  organs, 
257.  Their  functions,  337.  Er- 
roneous opinions  that  ail  ideas 
come  into  the  mmd  through  them, 
&c.  ib.  Do  not  form  ideas,  340, 
344.  Mode  of  ascertaining  the 
limits  of  their  functions,  342.  Ef- 
fects of  then*  disease,  344.  Why 
they,  though  double,  perceive  sin- 
gle impressions,  345.  The  mind 
not  conscious  of  the  existence  of 
then-  organs,  347.  Dr.  Spurzheim's 
opinion  that  they  have  one  connnon 
cerebral  organ,  348.  Improveable 
by  exercise,  356.  Feeling,  348. 
Taste,  349.  Smell,  ib.  Hearing, 
350.    Sight,  352. 

Sentiment,  what,  105,  216. 

Sentiments  common  to  man  and  the 
lower  animals,  216, 244.  Superior, 
or  proper  to  man,  244, 335.  Modes 
of  their  activity,  459. 

Servants,  choice  of,  by  the  aid  of 
Phrenology,  119,  264,  465,  554. 
Points  to  be  attended  to  in  choos- 
ing them,  554. 

Sexual  feeling  originates  in  Amative- 
ness,  110. 

Shakspeare,  an  accurate  observer  of 


human  nature,  38.  His  Ideality, 
306.  Engraving  of  his  head,  310. 
His  large  Imitation,  333;  and 
Wonder,  298.  His  head  large, 
527.  Supposed  cause  of  his  ge- 
nius, 534.     His  greatness,  590. 

Shakspeare,  illustrations  of  Phrenol- 
ogy from,  11,  180,  250,  405,  440. 

Sheep,  then-  Destructiveness  defi- 
cient, 173.  Origin  of  thek  olfac- 
tory nerves,  173. 

Sheridan,  Mr.  H.  Watson's  analysis 
of  his  wit,  328, 330.  His  Individu- 
ality large,  360,  401.  Engraving 
of  his  profile,  399.  His  Eventu- 
ality large,  401.  Specimen  of  his 
composition,  ib. 

Sight,  sense  of,  acute  m  proportion 
to  the  size  of  its  organs,  26.  Er- 
roneous theory  of  its  rectification 
by  touch,  338,  339,  352.  The  me- 
moiy  and  judgment  of  forms  and 
colors  independent  of  its  existence 
or  acuteness,  362,  374,  387. 

Simple  suggestion  of  Di\  Thomas 
Brown,  406. 

Simpson,  Mr.  James,  on  Weight  and 
Equilibrium,  369.  On  Time,  407. 
His  report  of  the  case  of  Miss  S. 
L.  473. 

Smgers,  their  organs  of  Tune  and 
Imitation,  411,  412. 

Sinus,  Frontal — See  Frontal  sinus. 

Size  and  Form,  ideas  of,  dififerent,365. 

Size  of  an  organ,  ccRteris  paribus,  a 
measure  of  power  in  its  function, 
22,  et  seq.  Effects  of,  modified  by 
temperament  and  disease,  29,  32. 
How  ascertained,  82,  84,  note.  Its 
effect  on  the  manifestation  of  the 
faculty,  527. 

one  of  the  perceptive  faculties, 

probably  connected  with  the  pow- 
er of  perceiving  distance,  and  the 


G60 


talent  for  perspective,  366.  Illus- 
trative cases  of,  ib.  368,  302. 

Size,  organ  of,  its  existence  infen-ed 
by  Dr.  Spurzheim,  by  reasoning, 
366.     Its  situation,  ib. 

Skating,  talent  for,  367. 

Skull,  never  supposed  to  be  the  cause 
of  different  talents,  45.  Accom- 
modates itself  to  the  size  and  form 
of  the  brain,  71,  73,  note.  Its  anat- 
omy, 72.  Its  plates  nearly  parallel, 
73.  Effects  of  disease  and  old  age 
upon  its  structure,  74.  Its  plates 
not  parallel  in  heads  of  some  ani- 
mals, 255,  Effects  of  tempera- 
ment on  its  texture,  582. 

S.  L.,  Miss,  curious  case  of  spectral 
illusions,  372,  473. 

Sleep  proves  the  connexion  of  the 
mind  with  the  brain,  10.  Mr.  A. 
Carmichael's  theory  of,  480. 

Sloane,  Mr.  case  of  mability  to  dis- 
tinguish colors,  378,  463.  His 
Tune  smaU,  418. 

Slyness,  arises  from  Seci-etiveness, 
180. 

Smell,  sense  of,  25,  349. 

Smellie's  account  of  the  New  Hol- 
landers, 570. 

Smith,  Dr.  Adam,  on  Self-Esteem, 
219.  On  virtue,  273.  On  Won- 
der and  Surprise,  300.  Displays 
gi-eat  Causality,  451.  On  Sympa- 
thy, 514,  518.  Explanation  of  two 
cases  stated  by  him,  551,  552. 

Sir  J.  E.,  his  organ  of  Language 

large,  433  •  and  Causality  moderate, 
451. 

■ Sk  William,  his  Acquisitive- 
ness large,  193. 

Smoothness  and  roughness,  percep- 
tion of,  364. 

Social  state  natural  to  man,  144. 

Society,  uses  of  Benevolence  in,  247. 


Socrates  had  no  genius  for  sculpture, 
210.  His  great  forehead,  266,  451. 
His  Demon,  290.  Admitted  a 
Deity,  455. 

Soil  and  clunate,  effect  of,  on  the 
character  of  nations,  564. 

Soldiers,  their  Combativeness,  149. 
Manual  and  platoon  exercise  of,502. 

British  and  French,  difference 

of  then:  character,  270. 

Somnambulism  produced  by  animal 
magnetism,  effects  of,  489. 

Soul  unknown  but  m  connexion  with 
the  brain,  104 — See  Mind. 

Spaniards,  ignorance  and  superstition 
of  the,  265. 

SpaiTows,  an  example  of  their  Be- 
nevolence, 257. 

Spectral  illusions. — See  Visions. 

Speculative  minds,  447. 

Speech,  faculty  of,  not  the  result  of 
the  sense  of  heai-ing,  351. —  See 
Language. 

Spinal  marrow,  anatomy  and  func- 
tions of,  55.  Consists  of  three  col- 
umns, ib. 

Spui-zheim,  Dr.  J.  G.,  birth  of,  48. 
Associated  with  Dr.  Gall,  ib.  His 
labors,  48.  His  division  of  the 
faculties,  105.  On  luhabitiveness, 
125, 136.  His  visit  to  Mr.  Milne's 
workshop  in  Edinburgh,  209.  On 
Conscientiousness,  253.  His  anal- 
ysis of  Veneration,  267.  On  Firm- 
ness, 268.  His  analysis  of  Ideality, 
305.  On  the  perception  of  resem- 
blance and  difference,  325.  On 
the  faculty  of  Wit,  325.  On  the 
.  cause  of  single  impressions  being 
communicated  to  the  mind  by 
double  organs  of  senses,  346.  On 
the  faculty  of  Hope,  286.  On 
Marvellousness,  294,  298.  Form, 
368;  Locahty,  388;   Eventuality. 


INDEX. 


661 


405 ;  Language,  427 ;  Comparison, 
443 ;  Causality,  448.  On  the  pas- 
sions of  childi-en,  507.  His  merits 
and  discoveries,  626. 

Stammering,  425. 

Standard  of  Taste,  526. 

Statics,  369. 

Stealing  prompted  by  Secretiveness 
and  Acquisitiveness,  186,  194, 195, 
199. 

Sterne,  Mr.  H.  Watson's  analysis  of 
the  wit  of  his  Sentimental  Jour- 
ney, 326,  330.  His  large  Form, 
365. 

Stevenson,  Mr.  engineer,  his  organ 
ofWeight  large,  369. 

Stewart,  Mr.  Dugald,  on  habit,  35, 
519.  On  variety  of  character,  37. 
His  style  deficient  in  Concenti'a- 
tiveness,  135.  On  the  desire  of 
wealth,  191.  On  desire  of  power, 
224.  On  desire  of  esteem,  234. 
Admits  a  moral  sense,  273,  285. 
On  Taste,  312.  On  Beauty,  313. 
On  Vision,  354.  On  the  inability 
of  some  men  to  distinguish  colors, 
374.  His  style  of  language,  421. 
His  Causality  not  great,  451.  His 
theory  of  the  origin  of  the  pleasure 
derived  from  tragedy,  461.  On 
Conception,  470.  On  Imagination, 
481.  On  Taste,  521.  On  the 
difference  of  the  talents  and  dis- 
positions of  nations,  561.  Admits 
more  faculties  than  the  plurenolo- 
gists,  585. 

Stomach,  supposed  by  Van  Helmont 
to  be  the  seat  of  the  soul,  46. 

Stratagems,  military,  prompted  by 
Secretiveness,  188. 

Street,  Mary,  281. 

Stubbornness,  the  effect  of  large 
Firmness,  268. 

Style  of  authors,  how  affected  by  their 


predominant  faculties,  386, 421 ;  by 
then-  Secretiveness,  188;  Ideality, 
317 ;  Concentrativeness  and  Even- 
tuality, 135,  402,  403;  and  Lan- 
guage, 424,  425. 

Sublime,  feelhig  of  the,  310,  315. 

Successive  appearance  of  the  facul- 
ties, a  proof  of  the  plurality  of  ce- 
rebral organs,  14. 

Sudden  resentment  of  Mr.  Stewart 
and  Dr.  Reid,  148. 

Suicide,  predisposition  to,  by  what 
caused,  240,  288. 

Suicides,  their  cerebral  develope- 
ment,  240. 

Supernatural  events,  belief  in,  pro- 
duced by  the  sentiment  of  Wonder, 
293,  298. 

Supernaturality,  298. — See  Wonder. 

Superstition,  by  what  caused,  260, 
263,  266. 

Surgeons,  eminent  operative,  have 
lai'ge  Coustructiveness,  21 0. 

Surprise  and  wonder.  Dr.  Adam 
Smith  on,  300. 

Sutures  of  the  skull,  what,  72.  Slight- 
ly inten-upt  its  parallelism,  74. 

Swallows,  Constructiveness  of,  211. 
Benevolence  of,  256.  Migi-ation 
of,  393. 

Swedenborg's  belief  in  supernatural 
revelation  to  himself,  291. 

Swifl's  IndividuaUty  and  Eventuali- 
ty large,  404.  His  powerful  writ- 
ings, 532. 

Swiss  skull,  engraving  of,  580. 

Swooning,  proves  the  connexion  of 
the  mind  with  the  brain,  10. 

Sympathy,  analysis  of,  511. 

Tacitus,  his  style  characterized  by 
Concentrativeness,  135.  His  de- 
scription of  the  Gauls  and  Ger- 
mans, 565. 


662 


Tact,  conferred  by  Secretiveness,  181. 

Tailoi-s,  skilful,  have  large  Construc- 
tiveness,  210. 

Talents,  natural  diversity  of,  47, 62. 

Tasso's  Ideality  veiy  lai'ge,  305.  Be- 
lieved that  he  saAV  and  conversed 
with  spu-its,  291.  Portrait  of, 
showing  Ideality  andWonder  large, 
294.    His  Locality  large,  390. 

Taste,  sense  of,  349. 

— —  coiTect,  produced  by  Love  of 
Approbation  and  Ideality,  309. 

in  coloring,  387. 

analysis  of  521.  How  suscep- 
tible of  cultivation,  525.  Standard 
of,  lb 

Teachers,  qualifications  of  success- 
ful, 403, 405.  Effects  of  smaUness 
of  heads  of,  530. 

Temperaments  mdicate  to  a  certain 
extent  the  constitutional  qualities 
of  the  brain,  29,  532.  Description 
and  supposed  origin  of  the  differ- 
ent, ib.  Modify  the  effects  of  Size, 
ib.  Are  seldom  found  pure,  94. 
Dr.  Thomas'  theoiy  of,  ib.  Their 
effects  on  internal  activity  of  the 
faculties,  470.  Nervous  and  san- 
guine, conduce  to  refinement,  524. 
Then-  effects  on  the  texture  of 
the  skull,  582. 

Temporal  muscles,  not  the  cause  of 
naiTow  heads,  205.  Present  a 
difficulty  m  observing  the  size  of 
the  organs  of  Constructiveness  and 
Acquisitiveness,  ib. 

Tennant,  Mr.  poet,  evinces  the  sen- 
timent of  Wonder,  298.  His  or- 
gan of  Coloring  large,  387;  and 
that  of  Locality  deficient,  390. 

Tentorium,  what,  70,  109. 

Tei-ms  used  to  denote  the  gradations 
of  size  in  different  cerebral  organs, 


Thefl  prompted  by  Secretiveness  and 
Acquisitiveness,  186, 194, 195, 199. 

Thomas,  Dr.  his  theory  of  the  tem- 
peraments, 94. 

Thomson's  Seasons  verbose,  424. 

Thoracic  temperament,  94. 

Thurtell,  John,  murderer,  270.  His 
large  head,  530. 

Tiberius,  his  Benevolence  small,  249. 

TUlotson,  an  obsei-ver  of  human  na- 
tm-e,  38. 

Time,  one  of  the  intellectual  faculties, 
407.  Its  function,  ib.  Essential 
to  music  and  versification,  ib.  Mr. 
Simpson  on,  ib.  Necessary  to 
accurate  dancei's,  407. 

power  of  conceiving,  407,  408. 

May  be  marked  to  the  eye,  407. 
Lord  Kames  on,  438. 

Titles,  rank  and  power,  respect  for, 
produced  by  Veneration,  264. 

Tone  of  voice,  relation  between  it 
and  cerebral  developement,  412. 

Tories  have  generally  larger  organs 
of  Veneration  than  Whigs,  266. 

Touch  or  Feeling,  sense  of,  348. 

Tragedy,  pleasure  arising  from  see- 
mg  a  mournful,  whence,  460,  461. 

Tragic  actors.  Ideality  necessary  to, 
310. 

Trajan's  Benevolence  large,  249. 

Trapbois,  in  the  novel,  a  personifi- 
cation of  Acquisitiveness,  193. 

Travellers,  eminent,  their  lai-ge  Lo- 
cality, 390. 

Truth,  sentunent  of,  arises  from  Con- 
scientiousness, 277. 

Tucker,  Mr.  Robert,  case  of  inabili- 
ty to  distinguish  colors,  375. 

Tulpius  on  the  structure  of  the  brain, 
48. 

Tune,  organ  of,  histoiy  of  its  disco- 
veiy,  409.  Its  appearance  and 
form,  410.     Lai-ge    in  musicians, 


NDEX. 


663 


411.  Its  effects  in  combination, 
414,  415,  540.  Case  of  its  disease, 
ib.  Different  appearance  of  the 
skulls  of  singing  and  mute  birds, 
418. 

Tune,  one  of  the  intellectual  faculties, 
409.  An  ingi-edient  in  genius  for 
music,  410.  Mr.  Scott's  views  of, 
411. 

Tungusians  have  large  Philoproge- 
nitiveness,  121. 

Turks,  then*  Secretiveness,  243. 

Tycho  Brache's  Locality  large,  390. 

[JceUi,  Professor,  of  Florence,  a  phre- 
nologist, 591. 

Unanimity  of  Juries,  587. 

Uncle  Toby,  character  of,  a  personi- 
fication of  Combativeness,  Bene- 
volence, and  Integrity,  147. 

Uniques,  passion  for,whence,198, 223. 

Unterbergen,  painter,  his  Construc- 
tiveness  large,  206. 

Van  Helmont  placed  the  intellect  in 
the  stomach,  46. 

Vanity,  an  abuse  of  Love  of  Appro- 
bation, 229. 

Variety  of  character,  37,  47,  62,  449. 

Vaucauson's  Constructiveness,  212. 

Veneration,  one  of  the  superior  sen- 
timents, functions  of,  260.  The 
source  of  natural  religion,  260, 266. 
Not  generally  admitted  by  meta- 
physicians, 262.  Its  objects  m  the 
present  world,  263.  Its  abuses, 
264.    Effects  of  its  deficiency,  265. 

organ  of,  its  situation,  258.  En- 
gravings of  two  skulls  in  which  it 
is  large  and  small,  258.  History 
of  its  discovery,  259.  Its  natural 
language,  267.  Generally  larger 
in  women  than  in  men,  268.  Its 
disease,  268. 


Verbosity  of  style  produced  by  pre- 
dominant Language,  424. 

Versification,  faculty  of  Time  essen- 
tial to,  407. 

Verulana  Gracilia,  a  Roman  lady  of 
great  courage,  148. 

Vienna,  veneration  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of,  260. 

Vimont,  Mons.,  on  Comparative  Phre- 
nology, 173. 

Virtue,  different  theories  of,  given  by 
the  metaphysicians,  272. 

Viscera,  not  the  organs  of  any  fa- 
culties, 40. 

Vision. — See  Sight. 

Visions  and  Ghosts,  belief  m,  and 
liability  to  see,  arise  from  the  sen- 
tunentofWonder,  290,  292.  Sub- 
ject of,  still  attended  vidth  consi- 
derable difficulty,  301,  303.  Cases 
of,  290,  291,  301, 472,  et  seq.  How 
accounted  for,  472. 

Voice,  connexion  between  its  shrill- 
ness and  the  cerebral  develope- 
ment,  412. 

Voltaire's  face  small  and  brain  large, 
42.  His  organ  of  Language  large, 
433.  His  forehead,  433.  Believed 
in  the  existence  of  God,  455. 

Walsh,  Patrick,  a  maniac,  his  Comba- 
tiveness and  Destructiveness  very 
large,  167. 

Washington,  538. 

Water  m  the  head,  239. 

Watson,  Mr.  Hewett,  his  analysis  of 
the  faculty  of  Wit,  325.  On  the 
vwitings  of  Sheridan  and  Pope, 
401,  note.     On  Comparison,  440, 

Watts,  Dr.,  his  explanation  of  Me- 
mory, 485. 

Wealth,  desh-e  of,  191, 195. 

Weight,  a  perceptive  faculty,  368. 
Necessary  to  harp-playing,  410. 


664 


INDEX. 


Weight,  organ  of,  its  existence  proba- 
ble a  priori,  369.  Large  in  engin- 
eers, &c.,  ih.  369.  Supposed  by- 
Mr.  Simpson  to  be  the  organ  of  the 
instinct  of  Equilibrium,  372.  Cases 
of  its  disease,  ih.  Sir  George  Mac- 
kenzie's views  of,  373. 

Welsh,  Rev.  David,  on  the  indivisi- 
bility of  the  mind,  101.  His  vievs^s 
of  the  faculty  of  Concentrativeness, 
127. 

Whales  have  larger  brains  than  men, 

m. 

Whewell,  Mr.  of  Cambridge,  his  or- 
gan of  Weight  large,  369. 

Whigs  have  generally  smaller  organs 
of  Veneration  than  Tories,  266. 

Whist,  excellent  players  at,  have  large 
Individuality  and  Eventuality,  360. 

Wilfulness  and  pettishness  in  chil- 
dren an  abuse  of  Self-Esteem,  219. 

Wilkie,  Mr.  David,  painter,  his  or- 
gans of  Coloring  and  Causality- 
large,  378,  451. 

WUl  does  not  rule  the  propensities 
and  sentunents,  460,  but  may  in- 
directly excite  them,  465.  Con- 
stituted by  the  intellectual  faculties, 
467,  Firmness  sometimes  mis- 
taken for,  268. 

Williams,  J.  F.  painter,  his  Construc- 
tiveness  and  Coloring  large,  210, 
378. 

Wine,  effects  of,  on  the  mind,  167,257. 

Wit,  difficulty  of  its  definition,  319. 
Does  not  necessarily  excite  laugh- 
ter, 320.  Instances  of  this,  ih. 
Mr.  Scott's  analysis,  of,  324.  Mr. 
H.  Watson's  analysis  of,  325. 

or  Mirthfulness,  one  of  the  fa- 
culties, situation  of  the  organ  of, 


319.  Functions  of,  323.  Its  ef- 
fects in  combination,  331.  I^eads 
to  satire  and  epigrams,  331. 

WoUaston's  theoiy  of  vutue,  272. 

Women  are  more  largely  endowed 
with  Philoprogenitiveness  than 
men,  119.  An  illustration  of  this 
fact,  ih.  Have  generally  Adhesive- 
ness large,  141.  Their  Combative- 
ness,  Destructiveness,  and  Self- 
Esteem  not  so  large  as  those  of 
men,  152,  172,  228.  Their  Vene- 
ration larger,  267.  Their  coloring 
generally  larger,  387.  Their  Lo- 
cality smaller,  392.  Their  heads 
smaller  and  voices  shriller  than 
those  of  males,  412,  528. 

Wonder  or  Marvellousness,  one  of 
the  sentiments,  Dr.  Spurzheim's 
views  of,  294.  Gives  a  longing  for 
novelty,  295.  Displayed  by  tlie 
French,  Dr.  Johnson,  Dr.  Chal- 
mers, &c.  296.  Admitted  by  Dr. 
Adam  Smith  and  Dr.  Thomas 
BrovvTi,  300.  Gives  rise  to  belief 
in  apparitions,  ih.  301.  Is  the 
probable  origin  of  second  sight,  302. 

organ  of,  its  situation,  290. 

History  of  its  discovery,  292. 

Words,  memory  of,  418.  Preceded 
by  feelings  and  conceptions,  423. 

Wordsworth,  the  poet,  strongly  man- 
ifests Philoprogenitiveness,  118. 
His  Causality  large,  451.  Errors 
of  taste  in  his  poetry,  523. 

Wren,  Sir  Christopher,  Constructive- 
ness  of,  212. 

Writing,  art  of,  424. 

Wurmser,  General,  his  Combative- 
ness  very  large,  149.  Engraving 
of  his  skuU,  150. 


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